Here's a thought, good or bad.

OG&E can look no further for a site for their new HQ. They already own one, all they need to do is move the existing substation south of the arena and the land is ready, it's in their name. lol

For a $30 million relocation assitance package I am sure they would be happy to do that. Or, CLR builds a new tower and moves into it, then sells their current tower to OG&E.

For a $30 million relocation assitance package I am sure they would be happy to do that. Or, CLR builds a new tower and moves into it, then sells their current tower to OG&E.

I think the old Devon tower will then become the new incubator of OKC HQ's.

Doing something with the awnings would be a good start.

The EIFS could be painted to breakup the monolithic mass of beige cheapness. And of course, another exterior finish could be applied, but that's certainly not going to happen any time soon.

They also used high-pitched gables for the roof all the way around and that always conveys a distinctly suburban feel, and I'm afraid we're stuck with that forever.

http://www.downtownokc.com/LocationImage.aspx?LocationID=660


I was wondering if someone was going to mention the roof line. At first I thought urban roof needed to be flat but after reading The Geography of Nowhere and thinking about it more, I realized that pitched roofs on residential is more common and historically significant than I thought.

I think the problem isn't the roof line, it is the monolithic exterior (as was also pointed out). We need more variation in the building material and more finishing detail.

Amsterdam
http://www.incontrole.com/IncImagesDMCAmsterdam/Amsterdam4.jpg

Brussels
http://www.world-nomad.com/wn-uploads/beautiful_houses_brussels1-420x338.jpg

London
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/10/16/1255708685141/Empty-property-in-Mayfair-001.jpg

Paris
http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/64883/64883,1291110245,1/stock-photo-roofs-in-residential-quarter-of-montmartre-in-paris-66228394.jpg

Given the blank slate Legacy is now it could easily become one the most decorative buildings in OKC. Maybe when they have to compete for tenants they will step it up.

You know I am far from an "urbanist" but, holy hell, the Legacy DOES look out of place. lol.

My first thought was to AT LEAST go with some multicolor paint to simulate the look of that Amsterdam pic... SOMETHING to break up that white space... and with the amount of corners on the structure I would think you could easily do that without making it look too blatant.

EDIT: I'm thinking even this would look better than what it is currently... Crimson Park apartments in Norman

http://photos.journalrecord.com/Published-Photos/September2010/i-RRXJsFc/0/L/bc-crimson%20corner_ms-L.jpg

I agree - Legacy would be much improved with modern "classier" (for lack of a better word) awnings and some color on those huge expanses of blank wall. The building itself isn't that terrible but they definitely went cheap with the finish.

Guys, we are way, way off topic here.

Thanks.

Driving around this morning I noticed that Level's exterior is similar (read on before you lose your mind over such blasphemy) in their exterior colors on the upper floors. They both have exterior brick for the first floor. Level's brick is a much more appropriate shade in my opinion as I hate the color brick that Legacy used. But I think the awnings on Level show what a nice change it would be if Legacy redid their awnings. But in thinking about these two developments, I realized that the white exterior on Level is what I dislike the most. They did spice areas of it up with bits of color here and there, but I just don't like white stucco-esque finishes. But the ground floor is what really separates Level and Legacy for me, even though with their bones, they've very similar.

So we just got all this delicious amazing info from pete on 8+ towers and you guys are talking about legacy apartments....

It appears that almost all of the 8 points you made have very legitimate legs, I can't help but to count my chickens before the "official" announcements. As far as I see it these are chances (completely made up) of each happening in the next 5 years.


Convention Hotel -100%
Sandridge - 100%
Continental - 99%
OGE - 99%
Devon - 99%
Highrise residential - 80%
Other Hotels - 80%
BOK/Conoco phillips - >2%


That is at least 7 buildings practically GUARANTEED, when this could actually be more if there are multiple highrise residential or hotel buildings built. This is very exciting!!!

Even though the BOK/Conoco stuff is very foggy and long shots when considered individually, there is certainly a non-local company actively looking for a downtown HQ -- we just don't know who it is.

I've heard multiple times from multiple credible sources that a non-local company is almost certain to build downtown, and I wouldn't be surprised if that news comes out before anything else.

So we just got all this delicious amazing info from pete on 8+ towers and you guys are talking about legacy apartments....

It appears that almost all of the 8 points you made have very legitimate legs, I can't help but to count my chickens before the "official" announcements. As far as I see it these are chances (completely made up) of each happening in the next 5 years.


Convention Hotel -100%
Sandridge - 100%
Continental - 99%
OGE - 99%
Devon - 99%
Highrise residential - 80%
Other Hotels - 80%
BOK/Conoco phillips - >2%


That is at least 7 buildings practically GUARANTEED, when this could actually be more if there are multiple highrise residential or hotel buildings built. This is very exciting!!!

I basically agree. Although, based on what I've read in this forum and elsewhere, I would set the percentages more like this:

Convention Hotel -100%
Sandridge - 100%
Other Hotels - 100% (assuming this includes bricktown/DD/midtown)
Devon - 98%
Continental - 90%
OGE - 80%
Highrise residential - 50% (because of possibility in new parkage garage, otherwise much lower)
BOK/Conoco phillips - >1%

Anyway, I'm definitely with you on the excitement of all this!

Even though the BOK/Conoco stuff is very foggy and long shots when considered individually, there is certainly a non-local company actively looking for a downtown HQ -- we just don't know who it is.

I've heard multiple times from multiple credible sources that a non-local company is almost certain to building downtown, and I wouldn't be surprised if that news comes out before anything else.

I wonder if they mean non local as in not it okc or as in the united states? wasnt there rumors of a company in Mexico looking to build a HQ out in this area?

Non-local just means not currently HQ'd in OKC.

I have absolutely no idea if that means outside of the U.S. but odds are they would be someone already in this region.

ConocoPhillips could just be looking into moving their Bartlesville personnel here, that would probably seem more plausible.

with BOK being as involved with as many energy companies as they are... i have a feeling that the info about them is probably true, just i don't think they are moving from Tulsa... i think they will be the purchasers on behalf of a company that they have dealings with. Which could be anything from a Kaiser Francis or one of the other smaller energy companies, to something as large as Conoco Phillips.

I'm saying there is 0.000% chance that BOK is moving their offices here, but i do believe that they very well and probably are working on the behalf of one of their clients that they work with regularly

I wonder if they mean non local as in not it okc or as in the united states? wasnt there rumors of a company in Mexico looking to build a HQ out in this area?

Cemex out of Mexico... and i don't know if there were any rumors, or just hopes that it would happen.

Just for fun I decided to go back to the beginning of this thread and re-read it. Let me save everyone a lot of future typing.

towercount = towercount +1
2042 goto 1
Run

I just think there is too much $$$ to be made with a highrise residential building for a tycoon to pass up. Everytime residential is built in the core it is quickly snatched up. A 25-30 story highrise apartment/condo building would be THE premiere place to live in the greater OKC metro area. I would imagine it having at least 95% occupancy within 1 year tops.

I could see Devon possibly building one close to or on their campus, especially if they are considering building some kind of medical center. It could serve as basically a incredibly fancy dormitory for employees of multiple Energy companies to network and build relationships with.

Cemex out of Mexico... and i don't know if there were any rumors, or just hopes that it would happen.

That might have been Centek (sp) that did build a HQ here, and just a small mfg along with it. Oil field equip.

I just think there is too much $$$ to be made with a highrise residential building for a tycoon to pass up. Everytime residential is built in the core it is quickly snatched up. A 25-30 story highrise apartment/condo building would be THE premiere place to live in the greater OKC metro area. I would imagine it having at least 95% occupancy within 1 year tops.

I could see Devon possibly building one close to or on their campus, especially if they are considering building some kind of medical center. It could serve as basically a incredibly fancy dormitory for employees of multiple Energy companies to network and build relationships with.

IDK, the most recent Downtown Housing Study is promoting low-rise residential developments (3-4 stories) for the CBD. The next big residential development will probably be West Park in C2S, but everything I have seen so far is that this will just be Deep Deuce 2. I would like for high-rise residential to come, but as long as we keep building low-rise developments like The Edge and LEVEL we get further away.

OGE seems more like 65% to me. As soon as Continental and Devon announce new towers, that will open up a decent amount of current office space, and I bet OGE just fills that.

Yeah. It's an exciting time, but to put a lot of these at 99% is a little too much. Deals fall though, companies change, the economy changes. Until something is announced and construction starts, I wouldn't even put any of those above 80%, which is really great odds!

Nothing in my mind in 99% unless they are literally breaking ground, and that is still closer to a 95% in my book.

There is no "100%" building until it shows up on Google Maps.

Nothing in my mind in 99% unless they are literally breaking ground, and that is still closer to a 95% in my book.

There is an office tower in suburban Orlando that has been 99% done for 12 years. I can't believe how close they were to finishing it - but it just sits there wasting away.

Seminole's tallest building almost a decade old ? and still not finished - Orlando Sentinel (http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-11-25/business/os-superchannel-55-building-20101125_1_tallest-building-building-project-18-story-office-tower)


November 25, 2010|By Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS — A lot of things have come to pass since work began a decade ago on a Christian TV station's 18-story office tower alongside Interstate 4 here — but completion of the high-profile structure isn't one of them.

Construction started in February 2001 on SuperChannel 55's Majesty Building — the tallest building in Seminole County and possibly the highest between Orlando and Jacksonville — and the complex was initially expected to be completed within two years. Local property appraisers suspect the blue-glass shell, its lower floors still open to the elements, is now one of the longest-running office-construction jobs anywhere in the state.



http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/20991776.jpg

You might as well add the tower in Tulsa at Oral Roberts. The top 20 or so floors are yet to be constructed in a sense of how the top floors looked in the movie Die Hard.

in a sense of how the top floors looked in the movie Die Hard.

Littered with the corpses of German Terrorist/Thieves???

This is simply feeding y'all's optimism with pure speculation, I know, but everytime someone mentions a ConocoPhillips move to OKC, I think of Chesapeake's new Chairman. I wonder if his presence here (did he move here?) has anything to do with the rumors or likelihood.

There is an office tower in suburban Orlando that has been 99% done for 12 years. I can't believe how close they were to finishing it - but it just sits there wasting away.

Seminole's tallest building almost a decade old ? and still not finished - Orlando Sentinel (http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-11-25/business/os-superchannel-55-building-20101125_1_tallest-building-building-project-18-story-office-tower)



http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/20991776.jpg

Wow. That's what you get when you build a building in an empty wasteland. It reminds me of the feeling i get when I drive buy the OPUBCO dark tower in OKC. Why would you build there?

Wow. That's what you get when you build a building in an empty wasteland. It reminds me of the feeling i get when I drive buy the OPUBCO dark tower in OKC. Why would you build there?

Who knows what they were thinking, or even if they were thinking. Like OKC, the trend in most cities is moving everything back to the urban core. Downtown Orlando has added multiple towers while this one sits there.

It still surprises me that American Fidelity chose to buy OPUBCO and will be making a move to this location. For a company that is already invested in downtown community to make this move seems strange. Midfirst on the other hand would have seemed like a better fit for the OPUBCO considering their current location.

I still think over next 10 years AF is going to say Doh! to that move.

I still think over next 10 years AF is going to say Doh! to that move.

doubtfull

It still surprises me that American Fidelity chose to buy OPUBCO and will be making a move to this location. For a company that is already invested in downtown community to make this move seems strange. Midfirst on the other hand would have seemed like a better fit for the OPUBCO considering their current location.

American Fidelity already owned adjacent land, so they had been looking to move there for some time. They almost built out there earlier.

They got a lot of great property for a pretty good price and it suits their needs.

As much as I'd love to see them build downtown, it was a smart business decision on their part prompted by a unique opportunity.

Why did the Oklahoman build out that far in the first place? Did they need the land for the press or what was it?

I'm skeptical that AF looks back and thinks it was a poor idea, but I do think it was a misstep to leave downtown and that area. I still hold out hope MidFirst comes downtown in spite of turning away CHK's offers. Should've taken them up on it.

Why did the Oklahoman build out that far in the first place? Did they need the land for the press or what was it?

To bury reporters who revealed their sources or to bury sources who provided fake information. :) nothing like a little land on the country side!

Why did the Oklahoman build out that far in the first place? Did they need the land for the press or what was it?

I'm skeptical that AF looks back and thinks it was a poor idea, but I do think it was a misstep to leave downtown and that area. I still hold out hope MidFirst comes downtown in spite of turning away CHK's offers. Should've taken them up on it.

They probably needed space for their massive printing facility. There isn't much land closer to downtown that could've accommodated it, especially at the low price they probably got it for.

As far as AF regretting the decision, I seriously doubt it. I know it's hard to believe but not everyone wants to be downtown. This is a good location between Edmond and Downtown which is probably right in the middle of where most of its employees live. It's better than downtown for employees that live in Edmond...20-30 minutes less time in bumper to bumper traffic on 235 between 7:30 and 8 or a quick entrance from 35 off britton for people on the east side on Edmond.

Don't get me wrong, it would've been much cooler for them to have built downtown, but there are benefits to both locations.

Don't get me wrong, it would've been much cooler for them to have built downtown, but there are benefits to both locations.

No doubt. I just sometimes get to thinking about how nice it would be if OKC's employers centered around downtown, a big game of what if (the Valliance Bank Tower, Founder's Tower, and the Oklahoman buildings were downtown, or if Baptist and Mercy had built around the OUHSC and St. Anthony's to give us a medical district like Houston) those types of silly games.

It is important to note that other than Chesapeake, all the significant new office space is being built and remodeled downtown.

There seems to be a strong trend towards the city core and away from the suburbs, although both will always be needed.

Man, a lot of yall are really negative. I swear some of yall would let your house fill up with smoke and wait until you actually were burned until you believed it was on fire.

I'll choose to put my faith in Mark Beffort, Steve Lackmeyer and Pete Ownerofokctalk over a bunch of negative nancys. Of course I realize nothing can ever be "100%", nothing in life is, but when there are this many signs pointing to an outcome you should probably follow them.

It is important to note that other than Chesapeake, all the significant new office space is being built and remodeled downtown.

There seems to be a strong trend towards the city core and away from the suburbs, although both will always be needed.

True and I think that's definitely a good trend. It's just a little annoying when people act like companies are stupid for deciding not to move downtown. I'm sure AF put a lot of planning an thought into their move i dont think it was a knee jerk decision.

Onlyone, I have often thought about the NW Expressway towers were built downtown too. It would definitely improved the skyline.

Onlyone, I have often thought about the NW Expressway towers were built downtown too. It would definitely improved the skyline.

Not as much as you might think. A couple of years ago someone on OKCTalk moved them downtown in a simulation and they were so small you couldn't even see them. They only look big because there is nothing around them to compare them to. It would have an impact at the sidewalk level but Valliance Bank Tower is about the same height at the old Pioneer Telephone building as is very skinny compared to other downtown buildings.

So? That is not going to hurt oil and gas companies. Also, if there is a recession, which is unlikely next year, it would only make construction materials cheaper.youre not accounting for inflation

There is an office tower in suburban Orlando that has been 99% done for 12 years. I can't believe how close they were to finishing it - but it just sits there wasting away.

Seminole's tallest building almost a decade old ? and still not finished - Orlando Sentinel (http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-11-25/business/os-superchannel-55-building-20101125_1_tallest-building-building-project-18-story-office-tower)



http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/20991776.jpg

Next time you're in OKC you should drive the west Kilpatrick Turnpike.

Next time you're in OKC you should drive the west Kilpatrick Turnpike.

For those of us who hate guessing games, can you tell me what you're refering to?

A half-built structural frame for an office building.. I forget, was it Seagate? Something like that..

A half-built structural frame for an office building.. I forget, was it Seagate? Something like that..

No, Owens Corning Fiber Optic plant, big deal its like 4 stories, and just the steel only. not near as a blunder as this Orlando tower

Well, that's because we occupy our blunders -> OPUBCO

...and love mediocrity. No other metro is building strip malls like we have for the last 5 years (esp if you throw out metros in distasteful places like Florida).

youre not accounting for inflation

Yes I am.

Well, that's because we occupy our blunders -> OPUBCO

...and love mediocrity. No other metro is building strip malls like we have for the last 5 years (esp if you throw out metros in distasteful places like Florida).

So, for the life of me I can't figure out why you are so interested in OKC... given how dumb, lackluster, and devoid of taste you think we are. lol

So, for the life of me I can't figure out why you are so interested in OKC... given how dumb, lackluster, and devoid of taste you think we are. lol

Just want it to be better than Wichita

Yes I am.

How much will inflation be in 2013, be precise please.

Who thinks this thread will be longer than the Devon Tower thread?

Who thinks this thread will be longer than the Devon Tower thread?Good point. Hopefully, this thread never dies.

Just want it to be better than Wichita

OKC is already quite a bit better than Wichita. Is that the level of city you think should be OKC's goal to be better than? lol

Your attempt at trolling is not only lame, but quite ineffective. Especially considering I couldn't wait to move from Wichita to the OKC area and did so full-time about 11 years ago. Yes, I actually LIVE HERE. But, I also don't feel like this is a place full of dumb, lackluster people devoid of taste.

Oh, and even IF your little attempted jab at me was even close to being something that would work... it only proves that you thrive and wallow in nothing but negativity.

Sooo... you got anything else sparky? Any other explanation why you are so concerned with a city comprised of people you find so beneath your level of taste and sensibility?

Good point. Hopefully, this thread never dies.

I hope it dies tomorrow with 5 official announcements, and we can start a new thread in 12 months when even more new towers are being speculated.

So, for the life of me I can't figure out why you are so interested in OKC... given how dumb, lackluster, and devoid of taste you think we are. lol

Spartan = Moriarty :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuStsFW4EmQ&feature=fvwrel

One of the all time great war movies.

Spartan = Moriarty :D

haha, I've always thought of Spartan as the guy in the ponytail in this scene. And that everyone else on OKCTalk is Matt Damon:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymsHLkB8u3s

I'm just poking a little fun at Spartan. I like his enthusiasm even if from his angle the glass looks half empty. Most people realize things are not too bad here and the areas with room for improvement are being addressed.

I hope it dies tomorrow with 5 official announcements, and we can start a new thread in 12 months when even more new towers are being speculated.

Only 5?
:wink: