Someone help me out here...what's MLP? The only thing I could come up with is My Little Pony. And that sounds like a lot of space for a My Little Pony HQ.

Master Limited Partnership, I think. New oil and gas company that is forming and rumor has it is coming to OKC.

Someone help me out here...what's MLP? The only thing I could come up with is My Little Pony. And that sounds like a lot of space for a My Little Pony HQ.

Master Limited Partnership.

Master Limited Partnership - I believe the one talked about in OKC is a company that moves hydrocarbons from the well to the refinery. That is pretty much the extent of what I can tell you. But there are plenty of oil & gas industry people here that will educate both of us.

Edit - I was thinking Midstream LP.

There's a huge part of me that hopes that this is the MLP, to the extent that I my hopes be a little let down if this is MidFirst (though I'll still be as giddy as a school girl). A new building is nice, don't get me wrong...but an $11B company headquartered in OKC is far more appealing to me than getting one more tower. Not that these are mutually exclusive, but it would be nice to know that the MLP is locked up.

Should this Stage Center tower happen to be MidFirst, then I really hope for skyline aesthetics that OGE/the new MLP, should we get it, nabs up the NW Block of Hudson/Robert S Kerr and builds a 600+ ft. tower on the SE corner. It would fill the hole in the view from East to West between City Place and Sandridge almost perfectly. And with the new tower on the SC site, the Skyline would become be pretty damn impressive...use your imagination with this photo:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8461/7996036994_c306c3129b_b.jpg

My hopes won't be let down if it's MidFirst mainly because I'd be so ecstatic over another addition to the skyline. But I'm with you on holding out hope that the MLP will announce sometime this year that they're going to be headquartered here. That would be HUGE, because there aren't a lot of $11B companies looking for homes. I hope MidFirst develops something ala Devon on the Stage Center site and that the MLP takes up the corner you've suggested. That could (and this is wild speculation/irrational hope) leave the site at EK Gaylord and 4th St for Continental's new tower. Then if Devon's MLP builds on the Preftakes block, that would leave OG&E to find a suitable site. At that point, I'm probably fine with wherever they choose, ha.

When we are looking at potentially 5 new corporate HQ buildings coming downtown, that is amazing potential for a city our size. Then you consider that we have other, smaller oil and gas companies that are still growing, companies that may take up space the more established companies are vacating. Things are looking really good for OKC right now.

As we discussed several years ago, this is shaping up very much like Charlotte, as once they built their huge centerpiece tower, they had a flurry of about 10 buildings over 30 floors.


I really do hope it's MidFirst building the next tower because it would be nice to get them back downtown and help diversify the employment / tower base there.

Too bad OPUBCO had to implode and lure American Fidelity to buy it's campus, otherwise they would almost certainly looking to build downtown as well.

I asked my MidFirst buddy over the weekend about the possibility of building downtown and he said "no, and I would know". Since he reports directly to JR I'm going to take his word for it.

As we discussed several years ago, this is shaping up very much like Charlotte, as once they built their huge centerpiece tower, they had a flurry of about 10 buildings over 30 floors.


I really do hope it's MidFirst building the next tower because it would be nice to get them back downtown and help diversify the employment / tower base there.

Too bad OPUBCO had to implode and lure American Fidelity to buy it's campus, otherwise they would almost certainly looking to build downtown as well.

Imagine the skyline if Valliance Bank and Founder's Tower and the OPUBCO buildings were all located downtown.

I really do wonder how much of this is actually going to come to pass... Probably not all, but it'd be cool if it did.

I asked my MidFirst buddy over the weekend about the possibility of building downtown and he said "no, and I would know". Since he reports directly to JR I'm going to take his word for it.

And you've had good inside info. about MidFirst in the past, such as them taking a run at the OPUBCO properties.

So, it sounds like it's not MidFirst. I guess we are down to OG&E?

You guys realize that the new MLP, Devon's MLP, Continental hiring and growing at a steady rate, MidFirst bringing employees from Phoenix, Boeing still moving employees in and Aubrey's new company growing fast, that OKC could have 1.5 million people, with the domino effect of retail businesses moving in etc, in the next 4 to 8 years in the metro? That's exciting.

As we discussed several years ago, this is shaping up very much like Charlotte, as once they built their huge centerpiece tower, they had a flurry of about 10 buildings over 30 floors.


I really do hope it's MidFirst building the next tower because it would be nice to get them back downtown and help diversify the employment / tower base there.

Too bad OPUBCO had to implode and lure American Fidelity to buy it's campus, otherwise they would almost certainly looking to build downtown as well.

Charlotte's skyline is very impressive today. It didn't used to be in the '90s though. If things keep moving in this direction, OKC will have a very impressive skyline compared to its peers by 2020.

I just hope Chesapeake stabilizes and stays put, because they are still our largest private employer and pay very, very well.

We could digest the loss of SandRidge without too much trouble but if CHK completely went away, it would undo a lot of the growth being driven by others.


And BTW, even though they are not a candidate to build downtown, Hobby Lobby may have already passed CHK as the largest private employer in OKC, and they are growing faster than anyone in town.

They get overlooked but they have a massive financial impact on the area.

Imagine the skyline if Valliance Bank and Founder's Tower and the OPUBCO buildings were all located downtown.

I really do wonder how much of this is actually going to come to pass... Probably not all, but it'd be cool if it did.

I don't know, I kind of like having the high-rise structures in the NW expressway corridor, giving the city a solid suburban skyline.

I don't know, I kind of like having the high-rise structures in the NW expressway corridor, giving the city a solid suburban skyline.

Valliance has one of the best buildings in Oklahoma City and I agree it's great where it's at.

Imagine the skyline if Valliance Bank and Founder's Tower and the OPUBCO buildings were all located downtown.

I really do wonder how much of this is actually going to come to pass... Probably not all, but it'd be cool if it did.

Valliance and Founder's aren't that tall. I like that they've helped establish the NW skyline actually. OPUBCO even smaller. They wouldn't really help that much.

If Domestic Energy stays hot for the next 10 years, I'd bet many towers will come to pass.

OKC needs to continue to focus on the urban districts as much as anything though. It would be great if the Health Sciences center exploded with development, jobs, housing. Driving up I-35 or in from the east on I-40, the HSC makes a big impact on the urban fabric, and it also helps provide a better economic foundation.

If C2S could become a mid-rise based (8 to 20 stories) epicenter of technology and mixed-use development, and if we could expand the CBD to have more financial companies, OKC's economy and core would be astounding for a non-major city...

I just hope Chesapeake stabilizes and stays put, because they are still our largest private employer and pay very, very well.

We could digest the loss of SandRidge without too much trouble but if CHK completely went away, it would undo a lot of the growth being driven by others.


And BTW, even though they are not a candidate to build downtown, Hobby Lobby may have already passed CHK as the largest private employer in OKC, and they are growing faster than anyone in town.

They get overlooked but they have a massive financial impact on the area.

CHK will be fine. They just need to not get bought out.

I don't think people think seriously enough about the "second largest NG producer only to Exxon" reality. The company will not continue to grow at the same pace, and will probably contract a bit...but I doubt it's in any danger of going under.

I don't know, I kind of like having the high-rise structures in the NW expressway corridor, giving the city a solid suburban skyline.

I don't mind where they're at, just thought it'd be cool if they had bolstered the skyline. No matter.

CHK will be fine. They just need to not get bought out.

I don't think people think seriously enough about the "second largest NG producer only to Exxon" reality. The company will not continue to grow at the same pace, and will probably contract a bit...but I doubt it's in any danger of going under.

Is Exxon the likely buyer of CHK were they to be sold? How likely is it that they could "not get bought out" as you say?

If C2S could become a mid-rise based (8 to 20 stories) epicenter of technology and mixed-use development, and if we could expand the CBD to have more financial companies, OKC's economy and core would be astounding for a non-major city...

This sounds very much like what Charlotte has become. By the strictest definition of the Charlotte MSA, they have 1.8 million people but pull far above their weight in terms of downtown amenities and urban fabric and today they have numerous high-rise luxury condo developments along with significant low-rise development.

I don't know, I kind of like having the high-rise structures in the NW expressway corridor, giving the city a solid suburban skyline.

Yes, it looks really nice from the dam on Lake Hefner :o

Imagine the skyline if Valliance Bank and Founder's Tower and the OPUBCO buildings were all located downtown.

On the skyline level you would never see them. Not only are they not tall, but they have very small footprints. However, at the sidewalk level they would make a hug difference.

On the skyline level you would never see them. Not only are they not tall, but they have very small footprints. However, at the sidewalk level they would make a hug difference.

Actually the Valliance Bank Tower is almost the exact same height as Sandridge and is the 7th tallest building in Oklahoma City. Taller than several of the towers downtown.

Oklahoma City 2013 now appearing......

http://www.againstcronycapitalism.org/wp-content/uploads/boomtown.jpg?b13461

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdreviews22/a%20Boom%20Town%20Clark%20Gable%20Spencer%20Tracy/a%20Boom%20Town%20Clark%20Gable%20Spencer%20Tracy% 20PDVD_001.jpg


Just replace the oil derricks with construction cranes!

:Smiley112

As a proud Tulsa native I am very happy for OKC. I've never understood the binary OKC/Tulsa thinking. I hope both are successful.

I feel the same as you do Dankrutka, but here is a comment from a poster in the Tulsa World on a story about Devon -

'So the BOK Tower is 52 stories, CityPlex has 60 stories and Devon Energy has 50 stories and Devon is the tallest building in Oklahoma? I guess in OKC they only go by feet high than number of stories. Just took OKC about 34 years to accomplish this.'

Working this mystery tower riddle backwards, approximately how many employees would the speculated tower handle. Granted there are many things we don't know, but what is known is a 40 story tower approximately the same diameter as the Devon tower. Let's take away 1 floor for IT, 1 floor for lobby and perhaps a restaurant and 1 more floor for grins and giggles. So anyone care to speculate on how many employees a 37 story tower would accommodate?


To answer an earlier question CHK and Hobby Lobby are tied for number of employees at 4,000 each. Mid First is listed at having 1,150 employees, their mortgage department isn't listed as the survey seem to list those with a thousand and above employees.

Here is the link to the Greater OKC major employees list. Greater Oklahoma City Economic Development - Major Employers (http://www.greateroklahomacity.com/index.php?src=directory&view=employers)

OG+E is listed at 3,450 not sure how many of those work in the downtown office.

Of interest from that list is Farmers Ins Grp with 1500 employees, do they need to consolidate?

Is Exxon the likely buyer of CHK were they to be sold? How likely is it that they could "not get bought out" as you say?

Doubt it. Exxon bought XTO to become the largest domestic producer of natural gas back in 2010. It was a move that wasn't that highly regarded by their stockholders at the time and even less as the natural gas price continued declining. At any rate, Exxon already has their domestic unconventional energy subsidiary in Ft. Worth and wouldn't have any reason to purchase another one. If it were anyone, I would guess Shell or Chevron, but I still doubt it.

Edit: CHK is listed as number 7 on the O&G Journals top 150 energy companies by assets, so even if something did happen, it would most likely be a merger of some sort. If it was a complete change of control, like XTO's situation, that would probably be the worst case scenario. Even then, there is a good chance that it would remain in OKC in some form. XTO's headquarters has remained in Ft. Worth, nearly independently operated, and is actually expanding there right now. Exxon has shown no intention of adding them to their Houston mega campus and are actually relocating onshore asset employees to Ft. Worth.

In summary, a CHK buyout is definitely not the preferred scenario, but it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

Domestic companies ahead of CHK:
1. ExxonMobil
2. Chevron
3. ConocoPhillips
4. OXY
5. Apache
6. Anadarko

So anyone care to speculate on how many employees a 37 story tower would accommodate?

I'd say 1,200 to 1,500, depending on size of offices, cube to office ratio, etc.

Someone help me out here...what's MLP? The only thing I could come up with is My Little Pony. And that sounds like a lot of space for a My Little Pony HQ.

Canterlot Mountain, I'm sure, is taller than 667 feet. Or hooves.

Actually the Valliance Bank Tower is almost the exact same height as Sandridge and is the 7th tallest building in Oklahoma City. Taller than several of the towers downtown.

VBT is ~80% the height of SR

Canterlot Mountain, I'm sure, is taller than 667 feet. Or hooves.

...

I'm worried about you dude.

All of this is in the thread, just thought I would update it to current.

Based on a paraphrase of Pete’s original announcement

I'm told it will be for a local company which will be consolidating it's operations to that site, ala Devon. Don't know the company but there are only a few that fit the profile: MidFirst and OG&E being my best guesses.

There is also a second tower very much in progress and that will involve bringing in jobs from out of state. I suspect this is the new Enogex entity, but can't be sure. Also not sure if this would go on this same block or elsewhere.

And his estimate of the employee count of a 37 story tower.


I'd say 1,200 to 1,500, depending on size of offices, cube to office ratio, etc.

Then looking at the largest employer in Greater OKC (link here Greater Oklahoma City Economic Development - Major Employers (http://www.greateroklahomacity.com/index.php?src=directory&view=employers) )

We come up with;
OG+E - but already ruled out -kinda
AT&T - has 3000 employees - but how many work in office
Hertz - 1650 workers - ruled out early in process
Farmers Ins Group -1500 - do they need to consolidate
Mid First Bank - 1150 employees, can’t find number for their mortgage div - insiders saying not them

Two companies with less than a thousand employees come to mind; Considering completion time of tower.
Continental Resources -are expanding - but insiders are saying no not them
AAA - thinking they have 800 employees here currently but have heard they would like to add to that

Surprise candidates;
Conoco Phillips - not technically local but perhaps sale of Sandridge is closer that anyone knows.

And the top 4 are still
OG+E
Mid First
Continental Resources
Mystery candidate

This thread is back to it's old form. We get sources on one tower and now 10 are going to be built. Lol.

I created a separate thread for direct OKC vs. Charlotte comparison:

http://www.okctalk.com/other-urban-development/34147-okc-vs-charlotte-skylines.html

This thread is back to it's old form. We get sources on one tower and now 10 are going to be built. Lol.

I guess I am not seeing that, my post from today are trying to figure out who is building that one tower that we have sources on.:)

And my top three candidates are OG+E, Mid First and Continental even though insiders from all three are saying it is not them.

This thread is back to it's old form. We get sources on one tower and now 10 are going to be built. Lol.

Some people have gotten giddy & proposed the idea that we could have a number of towers within the next few years, but not everyone is talking like that. I think people are more interested in figuring out who's building this tower rather than how many will be built. But people that would be in in the know (Pete & Steve) do say there is another tower in the works, so maybe it's okay to talk about the potential of more towers, no?

I still want a super-tall bigger than Devon, rather than two smaller buildings.

I still want a super-tall bigger than Devon, rather than two smaller buildings.

Sorry, but you won't get that due to the close proximity of downtown with Will Rogers World Airport. If downtown were where the antenna farm is, you'd maybe get your wish.

Huh? As the crow flies downtown OKC is the same distance to WRWA as downtown Atlanta is to Hartsfield (give or take about a mile).

Sorry, but you won't get that due to the close proximity of downtown with Will Rogers World Airport. If downtown were where the antenna farm is, you'd maybe get your wish.

There are no FAA building height restrictions downtown.

Sorry, but you won't get that due to the close proximity of downtown with Will Rogers World Airport. If downtown were where the antenna farm is, you'd maybe get your wish.

Have you ever flown into San Diego? You feel like you're flying between skyscrapers it's so close.

I still want a super-tall bigger than Devon, rather than two smaller buildings.

I would rather two smaller buildings. Devon is great as our city's tallest. Now we need more towers to feel in the gap between it and our classic towers.

I would rather two smaller buildings. Devon is great as our city's tallest. Now we need more towers to feel in the gap between it and our classic towers.Don't get me wrong, I would some infill to balance our skyline out, I just love super-talls lol

This thread is back to it's old form. We get sources on one tower and now 10 are going to be built. Lol.

Well we know one is definitely coming and a second is likely. Add the CC hotel and a couple of residential towers in which Steve has said are likely. That's at least 5, which will dramatically change the skyline.

There are no FAA building height restrictions downtown.

Hmmmm...my mistake then. Swear I had read it somewhere. Oh well.

Wait. How did this thread just explode? Oo

OK, I've read through this thread now in its entirety. One useful comment that I can add to this discussion (everything else has already been said and I hate reiterating anything)


I really think the only local companies capable of building something like this are MidFirst and OG&E and I just can't believe OG&E would go for such expensive, high-profile and controversial property. There is going to be backlash due to the Stage Center demolition and it's hard to imagine a public utilities company putting themselves in the middle of that.

We KNOW MidFirst made a bid on the OPUBCO properties on Broadway Extension and that they are out of space. With Chesapeake no longer being a buyer for their I-44 buildings, we assumed they would look to purchase Grand Park One & Two from Chesapeake for their expansion needs.

That still may happen but the recent quick sale of other CHK office properties shows there is a strong demand in the market, even with Chesapeake now being a seller rather than buyer. So, while they might not get the CHK premium, it shouldn't be hard to market those properties -- or keep them as investments and lease them out.


This is going to be an expensive and elaborate project and I wouldn't be surprised if Jeff Records (CEO) saw this property as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something special for his company and for the community as a whole, not unlike Larry Nichols and Devon.

I think that now that the drama surrounding CHK has calmed down and CHK is doing what CHK needs to do in order to ensure its future viability and success, I think that Midfirst is back in play as a hot card.

We could have been looking at them dumping everything including their campus in a firesale (should they go under or have had to reduce a lot more staffing) and possibly putting the entire North OKC commercial real estate market in a depression after they artificially raised the value of the same real estate.

We are now instead looking at probable stability, more than I would have optimistically expected this time a year ago, and can go on about our lives and business. And most pertinent, we can go on with plans for development (unless it involves CHK building more for now).



Well we know one is definitely coming and a second is likely. Add the CC hotel and a couple of residential towers in which Steve has said are likely. That's at least 5, which will dramatically change the skyline.

Steve said within the next 5 years it could be announced, but it seemed mostly based on the general trajectory of downtown development and the obvious fact that we are running out of large sites for 4-5 story infill and would expect the demand for more new development to continue well into the next 5-10-15 years.

I was looking at a panorama of the downtown school construction site. It got me thinking about where the "mystery tower" construction workers will park now that the old empty lot Devon Tower construction workers used. I know there's more than enough empty lots south of there though.

I think having construction parking down in C2S "North" would be the perfect way to get us to start thinking seriously about development there.

I was looking at a panorama of the downtown school construction site. It got me thinking about where the "mystery tower" construction workers will park now that the old empty lot Devon Tower construction workers used. I know there's more than enough empty lots south of there though.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3705/9012865717_9fbae3c19d_h.jpg

Confirmed that the Stage Center tower is NOT MidFirst.

Gotta be the MLP.

The good part of that is, MidFirst is not going away. They might not be planning a tower right now, but they aren't getting smaller and they'll need more space eventually.

Gotta be the MLP.

The good part of that is, MidFirst is not going away. They might not be planning a tower right now, but they aren't getting smaller and they'll need more space eventually.

Sounds like the probable winners are likely OG&E and Enogex/Centerpoint (not necessarily in that order) for both towers.

Don't think it's the Enogex/Centerpointe entity because I was told emphatically the Stage Center tower will be "a local company consolidating their operations" and would not represent new jobs for the area.

However, the second tower would involve new jobs so that could be the Enogex deal.

Do know for a fact that this is a business? Are we sure this isn't spec office, housing and retail?

Yes, local company consolidating their employees to one HQ.


By default, it almost has to be OG&E.

Hertz?

By default, it almost has to be OG&E.

Well, that's kind of surprising.

Hertz?

Absolutely NOT Hertz.

Hertz has the equivilent of about 16 floors of a typical building in OKC combined.....plus they are cutting back on their reservation space.. they now have a lot of the agents operate out of their own house.

Hertz also just announced their new HQ going to the Ft Myers area.

I have a step sister who at one point before she retired, almost had to spend her last 6 months with OG&E commuting to Ardmore at a sattelite center just to get her time in. So they could be having a statewide consolidation if it is them.

The other thought, could it be a state wide consolidation of ConocoPhillips..? I know we've been here before.

There are no FAA building height restrictions downtown.

The FAA did have objections to Devon's original height of 925 feet. That was mentioned in Devon's tour video.

The FAA did have objections to Devon's original height of 925 feet. That was mentioned in Devon's tour video.

Link to the FAA ruling?

It was probably fluff by Devon.

"our tower is so big the FAA told us to make it smaller!"