Office Buildings
Historical
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no



Address: 420 W. Main (http://goo.gl/maps/1NRG)
Built: 1925
Floors: 135 feet / 10 floors
Sq. Feet: 175,000
Acreage: 0.91
Architect:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/wikiphotos/mainplace.jpg


Information & Latest News
Formerly the Harbour Longmire Building
Links
County Assessor Record (http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assessor/Searches/AN-R.asp?ACCOUNTNO=R010018344)
Doug Loudenback Article (http://www.dougloudenback.com/downtown/vintage/1.harbourlongmire.htm)
Tenants
Gallery

In addition to all the work directly across the street for the New Main Street Garage, the City is in the process of doing some minor renovations to this building.

They are replacing the pavers, replacing some windows on the main floor, redoing the lobby and some other cosmetic things:

http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/development-buildings/6187d1389893825-main-place-harbour-longmire-420main11314a.jpg

From the City of Oklahoma City Facebook:


A water main broke in the City's 420 W Main building overnight. The basement is completely flooded including the building's electrical services and elevator system.

Department directors with offices in the building are evaluating the situation and letting employees know if they should report to work in the morning.

We will post more information as it becomes available.

From the City of Oklahoma City Facebook:

I guess it's time to knock it down. :p

Well played.

I guess it's time to knock it down. :p

You joke now, but it wouldn't be shocking compared to what all we've already put in the chopping block

More concerning right now is the effect this might have on City government. It sounds like mechanical systems were affected. If that building is shut down for a while it could have a pretty disruptive impact. A MAJOR portion of the City's business is transacted here.

Update:


City office closed temporarily due to flooding

Flooding from a sprinkler system break in the City of Oklahoma City’s 420 West Main Building downtown has forced its temporary closure. The break occurred early Sunday morning.

Approximately eight feet of water flooded the building’s basement, which housed the electrical system, elevator, a conference room and the offices of approximately 15 Personnel employees.

The building is currently without electricity.

Anywhere between 600 and 700 City employees from the following departments have offices in the building:

Personnel
Utilities
Parks and Recreation
Planning
Public Works
Development Services
MAPS
Finance

Some services offered by these departments will temporarily be disrupted including the Utilities Customer Service and Development Services’ Permitting Offices.

Supervisors will contact their employees who work in the building and let them know if they should or should not report to work Monday.

More information will be release after and an inspection of the building has been made.

8 feet!?!?

More concerning right now is the effect this might have on City government. It sounds like mechanical systems were affected. If that building is shut down for a while it could have a pretty disruptive impact. A MAJOR portion of the City's business is transacted here.

That's no joke. Planning and zoning, plan review, building permits, code enforcement, inspectors' offices are a couple of the floors.

That one basement has had a hard life.

OKC To Vaporize Personnel Records After Flood - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports | (http://www.news9.com/story/24634986/okc-to-vaporize-personel-records-after-flood)

Just read they hope to have the building back open by the end of the week.

There is a going to be a serious backlog of work... They really need to have a better contingency plan.

yeah, by Friday hopefully

Why are they storing important paper personnel records in the basement of an old building anyway?

And the whole permit process stops for a week (at least) because of one pipe bursting?


Terrible risk planning by the City. What on earth would happen if we had a real natural disaster like a fire or tornado?

I agree with that. Have they ever had any plans to extensively renovate and/or expand the building at all?

Also, how comfortable should we be, in a firm out of Dallas having access to pretty much all of our citizens records. Birth certificates, social security numbers, addresses, etc.

I don't feel very comfortable with that. I hope they have some very trustworthy employees....

"A renovation into offices was started in 1980 at the height of the oil boom. The city then bought the property in 1992 for $2.9 million and renovated into offices for its engineering, planning and waste/water utilities departments. "

Then and Now - 420 W Main (http://www.okchistory.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=147:then-and-now-420-w-main&catid=57:churchcollectiongeneral&Itemid=85)

I believe the '80s renovation was a Sweetser project, one of the last.

A little more history...

Date 1984


Sweetser has developed a dozen properties here, and now manages approximately 1 million square feet of income-producing commercial space.

His Sweetser Companies have a lot of real estate to develop still, including six more buildings at Perimeter Square on NW 39 Expressway and two at the Triad Center on Northwest Expressway west of the Broadway Extension.

There is the project at Broadway Extension and Santa Fe that will start once an anchor tenant is signed. And Sweetser has plans to develop beyond Tampa in Florida and in Dallas.

<snip>

For that reason, Sweetser plans to move with his wife and two children to Gibson Island near Baltimore, to make his home the central part of his life, traveling from there to New England, Oklahoma and Los Angeles to supervise properties that generate approximately $10 million in revenue annually.

He said he has already made 12 trips east this year and has two more scheduled. He expects to move in the next three or four months. He will keep an apartment in Oklahoma City.

Sweetser described his plans in an interview last week. He will keep his chief executive office in the Main Place, formerly the Harbour Longmire Building, in downtown Oklahoma City.

<snip>

The Sweetsers came to Oklahoma City as newlyweds in 1974. He was in charge of restoration and updating of the Tradesman's National Bank Building at Broadway and Main, the first of several older buildings he was to refurbish, including the Harbour Longmire Building and the 616 Colcord restoration.

Major Sweetser projects are Main Place, Nichols Hills Executive Center, Santa Fe North, Grand Centre, Lakepointe Towers, Perimeter Center, Triad Center, One Broadway Center and Four Corporate Center.

Sweetser Family Moving Their Home to Baltimore | News OK (http://newsok.com/sweetser-family-moving-their-home-to-baltimore/article/2081728)

Whoever is doing that document preservation is surely bonded and specially cleared for that type of work.

Why are they storing important paper personnel records in the basement of an old building anyway?

And the whole permit process stops for a week (at least) because of one pipe bursting?


Terrible risk planning by the City. What on earth would happen if we had a real natural disaster like a fire or tornado?

The majority of Personnel's offices are in the basement, hence the record-keeping...

As for the risk management, it is a little surprising.

Blackmon Mooring is doing the document recovery. Their website claims they've worked in the Pentagon.

Government Facility Building Repair - Fire or Water Restoration (http://www.blackmonmooringcommercial.com/industries/government_facilities)

We used them when we had a plumbing pipe break at my house at the end of a remodel and right after new carpet and wood floors went down.

On the bright side the 420 Bldg is looking really good. Much improvement from before in the pic above.