Anybody know what the pink stuff they have sprayed on the is and what it's purpose is?

No, but I've wondered the same.

Anybody know what the pink stuff they have sprayed on the is and what it's purpose is?

My guess is that they found asbestos in the mortar and the spray is some sort of encapsulating substance to reduce vaporization of the asbestos. But that is just my guess. Asbestos was regularly used in mortar prior to the 1980s because it greatly increased the tensile strength greatly. I have seen such stuff used before in asbestos remediation but not exactly like this.

My guess is that they found asbestos in the mortar and the spray is some sort of encapsulating substance to reduce vaporization of the asbestos. But that is just my guess. Asbestos was regularly used in mortar prior to the 1980s because it greatly increased the tensile strength greatly. I have seen such stuff used before in asbestos remediation but not exactly like this.

Probably a good idea to not be downwind of the dust cloud when the building is imploded.

I'm not for sure what the pink stuff is, but I don't think it is anything asbestos related. I've been on the post-demo end of these projects a few times. One thing I've learned is if asbestos in a building this size is found, then everything inside is halted until there is a wet or heated removal by hand. But I could be wrong so I will ask a demo friend this weekend.

Probably a good idea to not be downwind of the dust cloud when the building is imploded.

That goes for buildings without Asbestos as well though.

Parking availability will define what you build in the Central Business District. You want new skyscrapers (high rise mix-use developments) to reflect a progressive building environment?

End result: You better have room for patrons to park or it's not going to occur.

I'm not for sure what the pink stuff is, but I don't think it is anything asbestos related. I've been on the post-demo end of these projects a few times. One thing I've learned is if asbestos in a building this size is found, then everything inside is halted until there is a wet or heated removal by hand. But I could be wrong so I will ask a demo friend this weekend.

If asbestos is in the building, it has to be removed/remediated first. But, if its in the mortar of the bricks, (which was fairly common before 1980) then you cannot remove it before demolition. My guess is that this spray is some sort of encapsulant to reduce the release of airborne asbestos particles when the building is imploded.

Nope, absolutely not. Imploding asbestos containing veneer mortar (which has never been mentioned in my nine asbestos inspector training courses) would never be allowed because it would be reduced to dust and spread over the adjacent areas and be a huge health hazard. A surface treatment would simply not be effective as mitigation. It just wouldn't work. It would result in a huge release. I'll check with my contacts doing the work to see what the pink stuff is. I drove by there tonight and it looked to simply be paint. Perhaps to just identify the extent of the cast of the materials imploded. I.e., if no pink painted particles are found in close proximity to your damaged structure, then it wasn't caused by us.

From today.

Note the bus station basement and also the pink material they've sprayed on the buildings soon to be imploded:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/499082015.jpg

There are a couple of things I find interesting from this view. 1 is that the city offices are next door to where all this activity is happening. So it's somewhat funny that they can look out their window and see everything going on in an area that's been discussed so heavily....and is within throwing distance of the failed Clayco area. 2 is that you can see the arts district garage across the street. I mention this one because so many people have gritched about these garages needing ground retail and how they're so close to the walking areas (with Devon so close too) that there's no way they wouldn't get filled. Well boys and girls, see that arts district garage? Guess what, it's retail space on the ground floor is still pretty much empty. It's a nice garage as far as garages go, and the retail space has a nice frontage...but just because we tell people to build it...it doesn't mean we have demand to fill it. And its not like we're talking a large distance away, we're talking one block. And that block is even more desirable because there's surface parking avialble right out front of the arts garage, across from a large grassy plaza, so it's got a view and calmer car traffic. And it's actually closer to more workers (ie courthouses, etc).

I totally 100% agree about the comments on the parking for employees of the buildings going in. I've worked with countless people over the years, that complained about their second commutes each day in downtown OKC. And they've all left downtown because of it. Commute 20 minutes, then walk 10, then ride the elevator another 10. If you can offer an employee a way to make parking easier, they're much happier about working there. Counter to that, still in the CBD, companies that offer free parking to their employees have people that can park in their spot, know it's theirs or at least that there's a pool for only their people, and get over to their desk in half the time. It really is a big deal to people, especially the younger, about wanting to spend as little time on the commute as possible.

There are a couple of things I find interesting from this view. 1 is that the city offices are next door to where all this activity is happening. So it's somewhat funny that they can look out their window and see everything going on in an area that's been discussed so heavily....and is within throwing distance of the failed Clayco area. 2 is that you can see the arts district garage across the street. I mention this one because so many people have gritched about these garages needing ground retail and how they're so close to the walking areas (with Devon so close too) that there's no way they wouldn't get filled. Well boys and girls, see that arts district garage? Guess what, it's retail space on the ground floor is still pretty much empty. It's a nice garage as far as garages go, and the retail space has a nice frontage...but just because we tell people to build it...it doesn't mean we have demand to fill it. And its not like we're talking a large distance away, we're talking one block. And that block is even more desirable because there's surface parking avialble right out front of the arts garage, across from a large grassy plaza, so it's got a view and calmer car traffic. And it's actually closer to more workers (ie courthouses, etc).




There is a ton wrong here, but I'll stick with he fact that the Arts District Garage retail is only empty because they are not done building it yet. Every day there are workers in that space finishing it out. It is 100% rented I believe. First tenants move in in September. Notably Clarity Coffee.

I don't know you Bomber, but your post borders on the willfully ignorant.

The arts garage is fully leased.

Edit: high five Dr. Taco.

Yep, ground floor is fully leased and was before the garage was even complete.

There is a ton wrong here, but I'll stick with he fact that the Arts District Garage retail is only empty because they are not done building it yet. Every day there are workers in that space finishing it out. It is 100% rented I believe. First tenants move in in September. Notably Clarity Coffee.

I don't know you Bomber, but your post borders on the willfully ignorant.

Watch it taco.....the garage itself has been open for something like a year now. If they take that long to get the retail open, that's pathetic. Not to mention the fact that when I walked by it not that long ago, all but 1 space still had a For Lease sign in the window. And you don't have to agree with me on the parking issue, but that does not make me ignorant.

Watch it taco.....the garage itself has been open for something like a year now. If they take that long to get the retail open, that's pathetic. Not to mention the fact that when I walked by it not that long ago, all but 1 space still had a For Lease sign in the window. And you don't have to agree with me on the parking issue, but that does not make me ignorant.

False... Been open about 9 months.

There is a ton wrong here, but I'll stick with he fact that the Arts District Garage retail is only empty because they are not done building it yet. Every day there are workers in that space finishing it out. It is 100% rented I believe. First tenants move in in September. Notably Clarity Coffee.

I don't know you Bomber, but your post borders on the willfully ignorant.

I'm not going to call anyone ignorant but I think it's only fair to point out that the only thing retail about the use of space in this building is the small coffee shop. The rest has been leased as office space.

Not exactly sure what they're doing next door, but there's lots of shaking and quaking going on. Whole building at 420 is shaking, and there's an excavator in the space immediately adjacent to our building on the east, so I'm assuming their breaking through the basement level there.

As others have stated, I don't mind the garages per se as it does show the growth of Downtown as a business centre since we seem to have enough spots for Entertainment uses but not for Office. Other major cities already ahve many more garages that OKC so it is nice to see the growth here as we 'catch-up' if you will.

But my problems stem from the lack of design and planning for these garages. Even if you look at the pic you can already see two existing parking garages; neither full then imagine 3 more garages seen in that same shot; 2 on the block and one on the left (Clayco). And ONLY Clayco has a design that integrates it with the super structure(s), meaning we will have this shot with 4 stand alone garages, 5 garages total. Do we really need that many garages/parking spots in such a small area? I totally agree with those that have expressed concern that existing surface lots are being overlooked when IMO the city should encourage (through master plans) garages to be built on those sites FIRST.

Particularly with Transit coming online more and more - and a very simple solution might be to quickly activate Commuter Bus at least during rush hours between downtown and the suburbs of most office workers (which could be polled). If we ran Commuter Bus today between Edmond and Downtown and Norman/Moore and Downtown, we would very likely cover the bulk of the commute into Downtown and perhaps Piedmont-NW Expressway-Downtown; leaving garages for those in other areas not served by this commuter service. There's also the side benefit of a more integrated metro area via transit because the Norman-Downtown route in particular could be set up for commute both ways given the student population at OU that might want to reside in Oklahoma City (Edmond also with UCO to a lesser degree).

Wouldn't it be faster/cheaper/ and easier to implement Commuter Bus TODAY, implement responsible planning and design standards for garage construction (existing lots prioritized, garages on lots with existing structures must contain retail spaces, those in the CBD ZONE required to have certain % underground AND built mid-block per PLANNING DEPT discretion. ...), and the streetcar which is coming - why not go this route to encourage and expand Transit and use it as the growth mechanism for downtown while executing a master plan for vehicle storage in the CBD.

I can tell you this is almost exactly the model that Seattle executes, we have garages but most are underground, nearly all with mid-block entrances, and any above ground have retail integrated along and to develop pedestrian corridors. The primary 'vehicle' for commuters into the Seattle CBD is transit; with the use of Commuter Bus to ferry the majority of office workers to/from the bedroom suburbs. Seattle is not perfect but it is a model that I think would work perfectly in OKC and wouldn't cost near as much but might have an even bigger impact per capita.

Not exactly sure what they're doing next door, but there's lots of shaking and quaking going on. Whole building at 420 is shaking, and there's an excavator in the space immediately adjacent to our building on the east, so I'm assuming their breaking through the basement level there.

Any chance they decided to go ahead and demolish 420 W. Main as long as they have the diggy machines out?

wareng88 just sent this to me.

Not sure what they are doing but perhaps jack-hammering the foundation, although not sure why they would do that before pulling down the structure. This is the building closest to the City offices,other than the one that is a pile of rubble (to the right of the photo):

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/499082415.jpg

Any chance they decided to go ahead and demolish 420 W. Main as long as they have the diggy machines out?

I don't know whether to laugh hysterically or be horrified at this comment

wareng88 just sent this to me.

Not sure what they are doing but perhaps jack-hammering the foundation, although not sure why they would do that before pulling down the structure. This is the building closest to the City offices,other than the one that is a pile of rubble (to the right of the photo):



Maybe they want the building to fall into the basement as they are bringing it down? If they bring the building down on top of the basement roof they would have to drive the excavator onto a potentially unstable floor to remove the debris.

Any chance they decided to go ahead and demolish 420 W. Main as long as they have the diggy machines out?

Man. You'd think with the way things are shaking around here, they may just be doing that. At least it's not quite as bad as jackhammer day when they were separating the building immediately adjacent to 420 from our east wall. Talk about pounding.

A few of us do worry just what kind of sustained shaking this 1930s structure can take. Guess we'll find out! O.O

wareng88 just sent this to me.

Not sure what they are doing but perhaps jack-hammering the foundation, although not sure why they would do that before pulling down the structure. This is the building closest to the City offices,other than the one that is a pile of rubble (to the right of the photo):

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/499082415.jpg

They were tearing down the building from the back from what I could tell.

One day later and this is all that is left of that green building (old Dorn's):

From https://twitter.com/OKCNightCourt:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CNQWZnrUEAAXjMb.jpg

I'm not going to call anyone ignorant but I think it's only fair to point out that the only thing retail about the use of space in this building is the small coffee shop. The rest has been leased as office space.

That's part of my point here. And to make a statement to the timeline, 9 months vs 12 months...it's not really that big of a difference. The point is, the spaces still don't have tenants in them, LONG after the garage was opened. And at that, it's not retail...it's office space. The one tenant sign I saw on the space was for an arts related group...can't remember which one it was. If we're so adamant that retail spaces are available, we're not exactly showing a high success rate in having retail vendors in there. It's difficult to maintain them because after 5pm, downtown empties out. After 5, it all shifts to Bricktown...and we've developed it that way.

I know there are a few of you that think this it the totally wrong way to think about this. OK, that's fine. I'm just saying im not going to lose any sleep at night because a garage that gets built, doesn't have a full 1st floor of ground retail available. Throw 50k people living downtown in the core of the CBD and I would probably change that idea. But that's not really EVER going to happen. There are too many examples of similar cities around the country that add CDB residential and it does have a good growth, but it never quite reaches the urban density necessary to sustain a whole micro-economy, which is what we're really talking about trying to offer. That whole idea of having smaller version of all things you need within walking distance, and larger version a bus/train ride away.

All that space was rented to arts and City offices before the garage opened. They are just slow to move in for various reasons.

Clarity Coffee is very close to opening.


This is a City-owned garage and they never really marketed the space to retail and other services because they had to place City offices and the arts tenants due to wanting to make space for the south Clayco (now likely to be the convention hotel) site.

Also, in addition to the coffee shop there will also be a health clinic, which is a service, not an office use.

Bottom line: There seems to be plenty of demand for ground-level space in the CBD which is why is so important to insist on it in parking garages. Not only does it add a lot to street life and other urban principles, it's needed.

I'm not trying to be snarky here, im honestly curious. Why would the city put their own offices in what we're trying to call a prime retail area? it seems like a total waste of space. The arts tenants makes sense, but in the time it's taken to get the space ready, there are countless options available for other space downtown (or elsewhere) for city offices to go in. If we're so hurting for retail space, it seems like a major mistake to use the space as municipal office space. Now that Clayco is on hold, we're not exactly under the same pressure to get things moving on that block either. And it doesn't seem like that's going to move any time soon.

Why would the city put their own offices in what we're trying to call a prime retail area?

Because they own the building.

Also, because they need flexibility with the arts tenants due to the need to move them when it makes sense to move them, rather than evict them now and forgo rent.

Probably a dumb question, but while everything is dug up is there a way to help mitigate future basement flooding problems for 420? Can it be sealed up better from the outside?

Probably a dumb question, but while everything is dug up is there a way to help mitigate future basement flooding problems for 420? Can it be sealed up better from the outside?

Not a dumb question, it happened across the street during the building of the parking garage.

From today. Looks like everything is completely gone except the three buildings along Hudson and the old Lunch Box:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/499082515.jpg

From Urban Pioneer:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/499082615.jpg

Did we ever establish what the pink stuff was for?

Man, they're making some fast progress on the short stuff. Now the trick will be, once the last big ones are gone, how fast will they get moving on BUILDING? It's always easier to destroy than to create.

Man, they're making some fast progress on the short stuff. Now the trick will be, once the last big ones are gone, how fast will they get moving on BUILDING? It's always easier to destroy than to create.

As I remember every time I walk past the hole in the ground that was my beloved Stage Center.

This is very different than the old Stage Center:

- $326 million in financing has been issued
- the entire project will be built at the same time
- 7 construction trailers are on site
- Hines people have been working in OKC for at least a year

I expect them to shift from demolition to construction almost immediately.

It's a f***king travesty we've allowed this block to be destroyed and one of the ugliest parking garages ever gets to remain just to the west. There were just so many alternatives to this current situation.

God that's heartbreaking to watch the history slipping away, brick by brick. The new building will help our city continue to grow... but man, at what cost?

Sorry, I know that sentiment has been expressed multiple times before, it's just hard to see those pictures of the demolition and not think about what could have been.

Time to move on folks.

Time to move on folks.

Second!

Second!

All in favor

Aye.

opposed?

Nay. There's nothing wrong with looking forward to the future while still being sad about what could have been. Now that demo is well underway, I want to see this thing get built. I want to see progress. But it does honestly still make me sad.

It's only time to move on if Pete comes down from above and tells us to stop discussing the loss.

Time to move on folks.

Yeah, move on to the next demolition!!

No thanks.

I really don't understand how anybody can be confident with oil moving towards $30. How much more hiring can Devon possibly do in these conditions? Do they really need to consolidate employees from other buildings in to the building? Seems like this is the kind of situation that could change in a moments notice. I don't care if they have their finances in place, decisions of this magnitude change course daily especially when the industry is on such shaky ground.

Of course I'm just making huge assumptions, I have no sources to anybody who is important enough to make these decisions.

People won't move into that space for 2 years.

Devon has tons of cash, financing in place and know things will likely look very different two years from now.

I really don't understand how anybody can be confident with oil moving towards $30. How much more hiring can Devon possibly do in these conditions? Do they really need to consolidate employees from other buildings in to the building? Seems like this is the kind of situation that could change in a moments notice. I don't care if they have their finances in place, decisions of this magnitude change course daily especially when the industry is on such shaky ground.

Of course I'm just making huge assumptions, I have no sources to anybody who is important enough to make these decisions.

Devon is the big shark that will eat all the little oil companies market share as they die. This new building will be full, all the other buildings across the metro in 2 years time on the other hand remains to be seen.

I really don't understand how anybody can be confident with oil moving towards $30. How much more hiring can Devon possibly do in these conditions? Do they really need to consolidate employees from other buildings in to the building? Seems like this is the kind of situation that could change in a moments notice. I don't care if they have their finances in place, decisions of this magnitude change course daily especially when the industry is on such shaky ground.

Of course I'm just making huge assumptions, I have no sources to anybody who is important enough to make these decisions.

Oil was up over 9% today to $ 42. Some are now hinting that the bottom has occurred, we will see. It was spurred by Schlumberger's big buy.

Devon is the big shark that will eat all the little oil companies market share as they die. This new building will be full, all the other buildings across the metro in 2 years time on the other hand remains to be seen.

I feel like this is pretty accurate. You see this in any industry. As there are issues, the smaller guys, or even larger but less capital strong, are eaten up by those with the cash reserves. It's consolidation time for oil. And you'll see a LOT of that in the service side too. All those small companies that produce parts/services for the industry are where you're really going to see a lot of the stuff happen. I'm not sure that you'll see too many full producing companies get gobbled up yet though. Remember Devon is a wholesaler, so companies like Devon are in a strong position still. The refiners and gasoline sellers have a much harder time surviving the swing. Oil is used in all sorts of things, but gasoline is more "niche" in comparison. Think about it, plastics, makeup, grease, the list is pretty freaking long.

In a couple years when the TNT / ESPN helicopters are flying over for aerial shots and you see this beautiful building lit up next to Devon you won't even think about the old buildings that are gone.

While enjoy and appreciate the Gardens, I think about the Biltmore and what might have been every time I walk in it.

How at risk are companies like Devon and Chesapeake and Continental of being bought out? They appear to be strong companies, but then you see Exxon or Shell or BP or some Chinese company throw money around and buy these guys up like it's nothing. Are our homegrown companies at real risk?

How at risk are companies like Devon and Chesapeake and Continental of being bought out? They appear to be strong companies, but then you see Exxon or Shell or BP or some Chinese company throw money around and buy these guys up like it's nothing. Are our homegrown companies at real risk?

Even though Continental is a publicly traded company, Harold Hamm owns 68% of it and I don't think he's ready to sell.

In a couple years when the TNT / ESPN helicopters are flying over for aerial shots and you see this beautiful building lit up next to Devon you won't even think about the old buildings that are gone.

When you know what OKC has torn down, it's hard not to look at aerial shots of OKC and think about it.

And I think what's being torn down is more beautiful than the building that's going up and especially the parking garages. They may not have been as tall, but they were much better looking and more interesting in design, imo.

In a couple years when the TNT / ESPN helicopters are flying over for aerial shots and you see this beautiful building lit up next to Devon you won't even think about the old buildings that are gone.

Maybe that's the difference between us. I don't just see these buildings on tv. I think about how I'm going to want to go eat at the Lunch Box, only it isn't there anymore. I'm going to think of the literally thousands if times I walked by
these buildings. I'm going to think about KT's diner that was on the ground floor of the old Hotel Black. I'm going to think about friends of mine who had offices in buildings that are now torn down.

And what did we get for all this? Oh, a parking garage. Remember that there was room for that tower without demolishing anything.

As my dear deceased mother used to say, "some of you people would argue with a fence post".

As my dear deceased mother used to say, "some of you people would argue with a fence post".

Yes, but maybe one day the city won't be run by fence posts.

At least the fence posts have character :-P