I really want the pointed tower to give the skyline some character.

I'd think with Pickard Chilton as the architect there'd be a good chance.

Live chat


11:09
Steve Lackmeyer: Expect a big building.

11:08
Comment From Cinnamon
Have you heard any news on the Preftakes block?



Steve Lackmeyer: I think we'll have to a wait a few more months before we see what may be developed on the block. I doubt a Waffle House is going to happen despite Tyler's campaign.

11:09
Comment From Waffleton
will one of the proposed/speculative towers downtown have a wafflehouse on the bottom floor? On a serious note, I think a good old school type diner would do well downtown. What are the plans for the old bus station? Has there been any talk into how it will be repurposed? If a new tower is built on the preftakes block and with the OGE tower there will be lots of new people in that general area.

Steve's Live Chat -

11:22


Comment From Kitty
Do you think we will hear about the "new" company moving to downtown that will not be an energy company this summer?


11:22

Steve Lackmeyer: Yes. But I say that in the broadest sense and it's a play no one is expecting or talking about.

^

Good!

Hope it's someone completely off the radar, because we already know about BOK and the expansion of the various energy companies.

I agree. Having a pointed building would do wonders for OKC's skyline. I really hope it does end up like the picture above. Of course that is best case scenario being that Bricktown Towers are not likely happening. If everything else does happen, that would put OKC's skyline pretty far ahead of the other cities in its tier.

^

Good!

Hope it's someone completely off the radar, because we already know about BOK and the expansion of the various energy companies.

I just wonder if this is an air force contractor ? I heard mention that someone from the chamber or city a few years ago remarked they wished Boeing would move downtown ?

I just wonder if this is an air force contractor ? I heard mention that someone from the chamber or city a few years ago remarked they wished Boeing would move downtown ?

Since that time Boeing has entered into long-term leases with Dick Tanenbaum for buildings he specifically constructed for them right by the base.

And there is plenty of room to build more, if needed.

Something just occurred to me regarding all the increased chatter (from good sources) about the Main & Hudson tower...

I'm sure that the downtown stakeholders (Devon, OG&E and lots of others) are very sensitive to the fact that there is going to be a lot of negativity when Stage Center starts to come down. That is going to be an emotional and ugly experience for many and will cast downtown and what is happening there in a very bad light. And, new construction there won't start for a while and even when it does, it will take years before the new building is open for business. In other words, this is going to be a negative without much positive for quite a while.

So, in an effort to switch back to progress and positive momentum, they may want to announce the new tower sooner rather than later.

We know the Stage Center is going to be gone by the end of August so it would be wise to have a grand unveiling of new tower renderings to shift the conversation.

Yes. But I say that in the broadest sense and it's a play no one is expecting or talking about.

http://i.imgur.com/cyGUG3T.jpg?1

I'll say it again: It wouldn't be that difficult to retain and restore the historic facades while constructing a tower behind. Here in Seattle, I know of several recent buildings constructed behind old facades.

Thought I would bump up these old Carpenter Square photos.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Old%20Oklahoma%20City/Carpenter%20Square/barons6.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Old%20Oklahoma%20City/Carpenter%20Square/barons1.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Old%20Oklahoma%20City/Carpenter%20Square/barons4.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Old%20Oklahoma%20City/Carpenter%20Square/barons3.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Old%20Oklahoma%20City/Carpenter%20Square/barons2.jpg

Love the traffic "cones" in that last pic.

That to me says that it is an expansion of a company not currently in OKC..... Not a headquarters but a "field" office or branch for something like GE did. Although not in oil and gas.

The 'too much free time' MS paint OKC:

http://i61.tinypic.com/bijmes.jpg

I dig it!

I'd like something either pointed or a round/tubular skyscraper. I can't think of any examples off the top of my head. But something to stand out. Something different than a Devon design or a plain old box skyscraper.

I'd like something either pointed or a round/tubular skyscraper. I can't think of any examples off the top of my head. But something to stand out. Something different than a Devon design or a plain old box skyscraper.Like this?

http://www.jochenhertweck.com/pics/singapore2005/tanjongpagar/163_6352.jpg

http://static7.businessinsider.com/image/4e025b2fccd1d57a3d010000/china-skyscraper-wuhan.jpg

The Main & Hudson site is going to be a challenge for Pickard Chitlon because they already have a huge project (Devon) right across the street.

If you look at their skyscraper designs, most have a lot of similarity to Devon.

But of course, they are world class architects and have all types of creative options to perhaps complement our existing skyline and also having a presence of it's own.

Cylindrical would be a nice addition to the character of the CBD, but I kinda like the No.2 pencil look in the model along with some red brick finishes.

Other than the pointed kind, the ones Plu Pan posted were also what I would like to see. I couldn't find a photo of that one tower in the photos because I couldn't find them again.

Or this?...

SOM : Pertamina Energy Tower (http://www.som.com/projects/pertamina_energy_tower)

I'd love 99 story tower. That would be great. How many other cities have 100 story tower?

I'd love 99 story tower. That would be great. How many other cities have 100 story tower?

That would throw the entire skyline out of whack. It's already borderline with Devon. Some say, "Why does Oklahoma City only have one tall building?" That's because the others look small and insignificant in comparison. Without Devon, downtown looked dense and tall, now it looks like it's a small city with one "real" skyscraper. I've rarely heard this discussed here, but I hear it from out-of-towners and have to explain that it's just perspective. Almost an optical illusion from certain angles. Adding a super tall building would just add to this effect.

Like this?

http://www.jochenhertweck.com/pics/singapore2005/tanjongpagar/163_6352.jpg

http://static7.businessinsider.com/image/4e025b2fccd1d57a3d010000/china-skyscraper-wuhan.jpg


Yeah, something like that at the top would be awesome. I'm 100% on board with nothing super tall. Maybe something a little shorter than Devon. Something to add balance to the skyline. Downtown isn't big enough for anything super tall.

That would throw the entire skyline out of whack. It's already borderline with Devon. Some say, "Why does Oklahoma City only have one tall building?" That's because the others look small and insignificant in comparison. Without Devon, downtown looked dense and tall, now it looks like it's a small city with one "real" skyscraper. I've rarely heard this discussed here, but I hear it from out-of-towners and have to explain that it's just perspective. Almost an optical illusion from certain angles. Adding a super tall building would just add to this effect.i disagree

i disagree

I've had the exact same experience with out-of-towners too, and even I have to admit the Devon Tower often makes our skyline looks dwarfed and minimal, particularly from certain angles. I guarantee a 99-story tower would make it looks like OKC had two tall buildings and that was it.

My pseudo-realistic dream for OKC would be for us to get two more towers roughly in scale with Devon. If the one on Hudson and Main had a smaller footprint, but was within 100 feet or so in height, it would make Devon fit better with the rest of the skyline. A tower on Robert S. Kerr and Hudson (say, for Continental Resources) that was 650' to 700' would help a lot too.

I created a new graphic and did my best to summarize what I think will happen on the Preftakes Block:

Preftakes Block - OKCTalk (http://www.okctalk.com/showwiki.php?title=Preftakes%20Block&page=26#post802041)

What downtown needs is a few towers between 35-45 stories to help even things out between Devon and the others. And hopefully that is exactly what we will get.

What downtown needs is a few towers between 35-45 stories to help even things out between Devon and the others. And hopefully that is exactly what we will get.

My thoughts exactly! As cool as it would be to have a super tall skyscraper, Oklahoma City doesn't need one of those. Maybe in 20 or so years we'll be able to support somehting like that, but not now. And in reality, I wouldn't want that because that would probably mean we're a huge city like Dallas and that's not the mold I'd like to see OKC take. I want to see OKC take a typical 500-1,000,000 person city mold but become much more modern and be a center of commerce, research, etc. A city that the US looks at as a great place to live and set up shop. You get the idea :-)

I was going for the design of the 99 story building, not the height of it. Devon Tower should be our tallest building in our lifetimes for sure, just need a bunch of infill and smaller towers.

Something just occurred to me regarding all the increased chatter (from good sources) about the Main & Hudson tower...

I'm sure that the downtown stakeholders (Devon, OG&E and lots of others) are very sensitive to the fact that there is going to be a lot of negativity when Stage Center starts to come down. That is going to be an emotional and ugly experience for many and will cast downtown and what is happening there in a very bad light. And, new construction there won't start for a while and even when it does, it will take years before the new building is open for business. In other words, this is going to be a negative without much positive for quite a while.

So, in an effort to switch back to progress and positive momentum, they may want to announce the new tower sooner rather than later.

We know the Stage Center is going to be gone by the end of August so it would be wise to have a grand unveiling of new tower renderings to shift the conversation.

I think you're onto something, particularly when also considering Steve's chat:





11:35 a.m. When do you think we will have our next big announcement downtown?
Steve Lackmeyer 11:36 a.m.Hard to say. But it could be this next month. I'm not in control.

Chris, needs to be a 600K-1,000,000 person city mold since OKC already has over 610K. Cities in this demo include Seattle, Denver, Indy, and Charlotte - not a bad collection to mold to.

I was going for the design of the 99 story building, not the height of it. Devon Tower should be our tallest building in our lifetimes for sure, just need a bunch of infill and smaller towers.

I don't know how old you are, but I hope to see taller before I die in 200 years.

..

Much smaller version of this?

Phoenix Towers plans revealed as world?s tallest, pinkest and greenest skyscrapers to be built in China ? but inspired by London - Architecture - Arts and Entertainment - The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/architecture/phoenix-towers-plans-revealed-as-worlds-tallest-pinkest-and-greenest-skyscrapers-to-be-built-in-china--but-inspired-by-london-9549311.html)

I was going for the design of the 99 story building, not the height of it. Devon Tower should be our tallest building in our lifetimes for sure, just need a bunch of infill and smaller towers.I know. That was me speaking for the height. Regardless of what people say, I still think it would look good here and be really cool.

Some Photoshop fun:
http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/general-real-estate-topics/8274d1403407352-mystery-tower-speculation-news-ideas-post-here-okc-skyline-photoshop-1.jpg

Original image:
http://www.moveupoklahoma.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Downtown-OKC-from-The-gold-dome-tower.jpg

Nice job, KayneMo.

^Thank you!

More Photoshop fun:
http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/general-real-estate-topics/8276d1403424905-mystery-tower-speculation-news-ideas-post-here-okc-skyline-photoshop-2.jpg

Original image:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1292377_10151641865002312_1312205779_o.jpg

I love both of them Photoshop images. Both bring balance to downtown.

Awesome job Kanye. Those buildings look real and Devon looks fake because of the reflections.

Man, that photo underscores what an important opportunity the Cox Center will be in the not-too-distant future.

Once the Cox center is gone, I think its a no-brainer to extend the canal to the Myriad Gardens and develop that portion of it the way Lower Bricktown should have been done.

Once the Cox center is gone, I think its a no-brainer to extend the canal to the Myriad Gardens and develop that portion of it the way Lower Bricktown should have been done.

I dunno, you'd have to go right through the Santa Fe train depot.

I agree that would be a great opportunity to actually make the canal a connector rather than simply an attraction, which I think makes development along the entire length much easier.

I would caution though that there are some engineering challenges at this location including utility tunnels servicing the Chesapeake Arena and also the fact that EK Gaylord will be depressed to meet the Boulevard as it comes through the BNSF viaduct. Since the canal has a fixed elevation it dictates various clearances around these features. This is why when the Bricktown Association was proposing the consideration of extension into the CBD prior to the passage of MAPS 3, engineers advised that the canal be extended south to 4th before crossing the railroad and continuing west. This didn't make sense to the casual observer at the time and was poorly communicated by proponents.

Not saying it can't be done; quite the opposite in fact. I absolutely think it should happen. Just pointing out that there are some limitations regarding where it comes through. Probably at this point the closer to Sheridan the better, if coming through north of the boulevard.

I dunno, you'd have to go right through the Santa Fe train depot.

It would be a little awkward connecting it to the Gardens as well if you go straight, the Park House and Ice House facilities are a little in the way too.

Also shows what a waste of space Century Center is...what I mean is, think of a 20 or 30 (or more) story building there. Nothing against Century Center per se...just not in that spot.

Also shows what a waste of space Century Center is...what I mean is, think of a 20 or 30 (or more) story building there. Nothing against Century Center per se...just not in that spot.

Yeah I go back and forth on that, every building downtown doesn't need to be a tower, but the century center is in a pretty prominent location. I don't think it will be seen as a waste of space at all after it's renovation and the cox center block is redeveloped.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I dunno, you'd have to go right through the Santa Fe train depot.

With it being faux canal, I expect you could pretty much just make them two separate water structures and do something decorative between, I think the more important thing is just establishing a convenient walk (hopefully entirely the canal level) between the current canal end as far as the city would be willing to run the new one. That could tie the underground & canal level together as well. Though utility relocation probably would be a pain.

The main thing that would miss out with them not being one water pool is that the water taxis could not run all the way and make a stop at the Myriad Gardens/newest part of the CBD, but if they did really want to do it, it could just skirt around the north side of the Santa Fe building. It seems like there was a gap in between the existing and new construction for the hub anyway.

I dunno, you'd have to go right through the Santa Fe train depot.

Why not something like this?

8281

Why not something like this?

8281

I think the transit hub would prohibit this design. At one time the proposal had it going from the west end south to Reno, then back west under the train bridge and then along the south end of the CCC.

I didn't realize that Cox took up such a huge chunk of real estate. I like the idea of extending the canal to Myriad, but also to the Oklahoma River. Maybe on the north side of the canal a couple of high rises. One the south side an extension of lower Bricktown and an entertainment district to go along with Cheseapeake Arena.

I think the transit hub would prohibit this design. At one time the proposal had it going from the west end south to Reno, then back west under the train bridge and then along the south end of the CCC.
Two challenges with that:


EK Gaylord will dip sharply below grade starting around Reno to intersect the Boulevard as it passes under the BNSF tracks. Most folks still don't understand the massive rework they will soon be seeing on Gaylord/Shields in front of the Courtyard. The surface of the canal would be above street level at the lowest point, which makes bridges/crossings difficult to say the least.
There are massive steam/HVAC tunnels running under Reno between Cox and Chesapeake, which would still remain even if the Cox was redeveloped. also, the Cox parking structure doesn't stop at the edge of the buliding; it extends all of the way under the sidewalk roughly to the curb.

At the very least there are a lot of engineering challenges with this route, though on many levels it makes the most sense. At one point during planning for arena renovations there was even consideration given to exposing the basement level where the Courtside and Founders Clubs were built and giving them canal frontage. THAT would have been amazing.

I had no idea that the Cox center was up for removal. They sure are pouring a lot of money into it if they are going to tear it down.

Everything is disposable to our city.

Stage Center, Film Exchange buildings, Cox Center..... They are just dated buildings in the way.

So this story about the Cox Center being demolished is just speculation? While I think the space could be used for other things, I am skeptical that it will be torn down in the next 20+ years. The city often raves about having two arenas next to each other for playoff games and other events and if I understand correctly, this new convention center will not have an arena. The Oklahoma City Barons will be without a home for one thing and the idea of sharing the Chesapeake Arena also seems challenging. The reason I say this is because I am already hearing complaints of Oklahoma City losing concerts and events to Tulsa because the Oklahoma City Thunder games have it booked up. If the Barons and the Thunder are using our only arena then we are even less available for concerts.

While these buildings may be dated and in the way, I still think the general public may be unaware that this new convention center will not have an arena. I also think that the public will take some convincing to build another arena when we still haven's seen any of the MAPS 3 projects built. I could be misunderstanding the situation but I am not buying that the Cox Center will be destroyed in less than 20 years.

There are no official plans to remove the Cox Center, only speculation here that it will be made redundant by the new convention center and that the massive amount of downtown land it occupies could be redeveloped for a higher and better use than (what will become) rarely used exhibit and arena space. If that happens I don't think its removal will be especially tragic OR controversial.

Obviously there are other options for hockey, and the two arena thing became muted when the Big 12 men's and women's tournaments were split from one another. It would even be possible (though not necessarily advisable) for the arena bowl to be retained and for LOTS of redevelopment to take place around it in place of the current exhibit halls. The arena itself is only a relatively small portion of the building's footprint. Compare it to the footprint of the larger-capacity but arena-only Chesapeake Arena and you'll see what I mean.

So this story about the Cox Center being demolished is just speculation?

Who said speculation? The city is planning on tearing it down.

I agree that this is widely assumed, but I don't recall seeing public acknowledgment of that by City officials in the media. Do you have a source for that statement?

Who said speculation? The city is planning on tearing it down.

Where have you seen this?

I take back my point. After asking my wife the question if she thought the Cox Center would be torn down in the next 20 years, she said yes. She knows nothing of any of the points that I made. Her point is probably shared by others and so I could and probably am wrong. I do think it would be tragic to not have two large arenas available, maybe something could be worked out. I know it is off subject but I would still love to have a football stadium downtown.