The tornado comments are so ridiculous in particular. Pick any Oklahoma City address, there is a very good chance there has been no tornado activity between April 22nd, 1889 and present day. If we actually got hit by tornadoes half as often as the average person thinks we do, no one would live here because it would be cost-prohibitive lol, not to mention the risk of death.

It’s quite a silly thing to say. Especially when a few people said, “Do the developers even know about our tornadoes?”
No, you better go warn Matteson Capital

over 60 years in OKC and I have never seen a tornado. And not because I was hiding in the bathtub. Like all good Okies, I go outside and look, but never had one close enough to see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eMmBwhieXw&ab_channel=Magnitudes
Check out this video. Super high resolution renderings in a video format that really show what this would look like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eMmBwhieXw&ab_channel=Magnitudes
Check out this video. Super high resolution renderings in a video format that really show what this would look like.

Thanks for that! A few screen grabs:

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/boardwalk012824a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/boardwalk012824b.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/boardlwalk012824d.jpg

That video is hilarious! I love the rendering of the Downtown OKC skyline with the Willis Tower superimposed.

Thanks for that! A few screen grabs:

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/boardwalk012824a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/boardwalk012824b.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/boardlwalk012824d.jpg

The fact that this proposal is getting this kind of attention is astounding. We've got people dreaming big these days, and the fact that the observation deck is situated to be so high above the One World Trade is astounding. At this point I'm hoping the publicity isn't for naught, even if that is the likely outcome.

On a side note, this does highlight how much of a blight the Cox Center is in creating unnecessary space in our skyline. I do think the new arena would be built there, but also this has me hoping for more in that spot aside from that.

The fact that this proposal is getting this kind of attention is astounding. We've got people dreaming big these days, and the fact that the observation deck is situated to be so high above the One World Trade is astounding. At this point I'm hoping the publicity isn't for naught, even if that is the likely outcome.

On a side note, this does highlight how much of a blight the Cox Center is in creating unnecessary space in our skyline. I do think the new arena would be built there, but also this has me hoping for more in that spot aside from that.

I'm hoping that the surface lots between Scissortail and MBG get filled with some high rise development and that the new arena is placed in the prior space of the CCC.
Having some high rise towers on those surface lots would fit right in with this new development. Devon wouldn't look as out of place and downtown would have a much more impressive skyline from the interstate perspective.

…On a side note, this does highlight how much of a blight the Cox Center is in creating unnecessary space in our skyline. I do think the new arena would be built there, but also this has me hoping for more in that spot aside from that.
There will be.

Since it is so flat around OKC you could calculate it. Use the height and the arc of the earth.

Yup, 53.5 miles to see the top of the mast.

There will be.

What do you think/know will be built on the site? I'm assuming probably an anchor hotel, right? Any specific brands you are hearing or is an RFP expected to be released?

What do you think/know will be built on the site? I'm assuming probably an anchor hotel, right? Any specific brands you are hearing or is an RFP expected to be released?

Omni has right of first refusal IIRC

Assuming every proceeds, what is the plan for parking?

Part of the reason `supers` succeed in New York/Chicago/etc., is because of the walkability/public transportation options the city offers.

As much as I would one day love for OKC to become that, it just isn't.

There are no easily accessible grocery stores, retails center, or restaurants (other than Bricktown) and thus would say a car is relatively necessary at this point in time for that location.

Assuming every proceeds, what is the planning for parking?

There doesn't seem to be one which is another cause for great skepticism.

Assuming every proceeds, what is the planning for parking?

Part of the reason `supers` succeed in New York/Chicago/etc. is because of the walkability/public transportation options the city offers.

As much as I would one day love for OKC to become that, it just isn't.

There are no easily accessible grocery stores, retails center, or restaurants (other than Bricktown) and thus would say a car is relatively necessary at this point in time for that location.

IF this gets built based on strong demand, there is lots of fully developable land very close to the site which would likely be built into support businesses. Lots of open sites east of the ballpark, lots of land at the old cotton mill site, and a lot of land at Strawberry Fields just 3 or 4 blocks away. It also is near the streetcar line,

IF built, it will be at least 10 years from now and I believe OKC downtown will look even more developed by then. It's like hunting... if you want to hit it, you don't shoot where the duck is, you shoot at where it is going.

I appreciate the people that made the video and of course, many thanks to Pete for grabbing the screen shots.

I'm completely discounting the supertall. With respect to the other towers, my first interest as I've made clear is on the street and neighborhood interaction, but having said that, I confess to being mildly disappointed at the impact these apparently will have on the skyline from the west. (When I first saw the screenshot, I actually thought the shorter building to the left of the supertall was the Omni) Maybe it is the angle but I wasn't realizing quite the distance that they will be from the heart of the CBD. And if the arena is built there on the Cox site, unless a tall building is somehow integrated into it, it will continue to leave this dead space.

I would selfishly love to see what the skyline would look like from the due north with these "smaller" towers added (Broadway Extension near Wilshire/63rd) as that is the direction that I am seeing it 90 percent of the time at I'm home. I suspect it will look better from that angle due to the much shorter east-west distance between it and BancFirst from afar.

The phase 1 towers are each built on top of several levels of parking.

If this pans out, and hopefully the first 3 towers are built.

I have always dreamed of living high off the ground but I don't want to live in a crowded city. I grew up in OKC but spent 30+ years in LA when I inherited my grandfather's real estate company. I would buy an apartment on the top floor or near the top floor if this does get built. I'll be first in line with my checkbook.

At this point we just wait on the phase 1 towers to start construction and see how close they are to the renderings.

At this point we just wait on the phase 1 towers to start construction and see how close they are to the renderings.

They keep saying the first phase will start this year, so that means lots of design submissions and building permits will have to be filed by this summer... So, we shall soon see.

I have always dreamed of living high off the ground but I don't want to live in a crowded city. I grew up in OKC but spent 30+ years in LA when I inherited my grandfather's real estate company. I would buy an apartment on the top floor or near the top floor if this does get built. I'll be first in line with my checkbook.

You'd want to reach out to Matteson Capital now then...any shot of the huge tower getting built would rely on the demand for the units, so you should express that demand (and probably show some.proof as well).

I appreciate the people that made the video and of course, many thanks to Pete for grabbing the screen shots.

I'm completely discounting the supertall. With respect to the other towers, my first interest as I've made clear is on the street and neighborhood interaction, but having said that, I confess to being mildly disappointed at the impact these apparently will have on the skyline from the west. (When I first saw the screenshot, I actually thought the shorter building to the left of the supertall was the Omni) Maybe it is the angle but I wasn't realizing quite the distance that they will be from the heart of the CBD. And if the arena is built there on the Cox site, unless a tall building is somehow integrated into it, it will continue to leave this dead space.

I would selfishly love to see what the skyline would look like from the due north with these "smaller" towers added (Broadway Extension near Wilshire/63rd) as that is the direction that I am seeing it 90 percent of the time at I'm home. I suspect it will look better from that angle due to the much shorter east-west distance between it and BancFirst from afar.

I will acknowledge that I would rather see four 50-story towers as opposed to three thirty-story towers and this supertall tower. It would provide more breadth and balance to the skyline. That said, this is utter PR genius and it will be entertaining to see what gets built.

Has anyone posted a site plan for this? That lot just doesn't seem big enough to hold 4 sky scrappers. The U-haul is staying, right?

Has anyone posted a site plan for this? That lot just doesn't seem big enough to hold 4 sky scrappers. The U-haul is staying, right?

Site plans have been shared before, but I can't remember how far back. Best suggestion is to just go back a number of pages.

Has anyone posted a site plan for this? That lot just doesn't seem big enough to hold 4 sky scrappers. The U-haul is staying, right?

https://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=970-4-tower-development-takes-another-step

^ was an earlier version

So, the marketing side of this is working. We live in Brunswick Georgia which gives us the advantage of being a couple hours drive from Charleston, Savannah, and St. Augustine. So, we take advantage as much as we can with day trips to these places. Saturday we went to St. Augustine for the day. We stopped at a patio bar for a drink before dinner to listen to some live music. I'm wearing an OKC Thunder shirt and the bartender sees it and says, "Hey, what do you think about OKC getting the tallest building in the US?" I chuckled and said that I liked the idea but was more excited about the rest of the development since it was more likely to happen. He replies, "Man OKC sure is an amazing, modern city. It's really cool to see." I looked up at him expecting him to be messing with me, but he was dead serious. So, just a small example but damn if that didn't fill my Okie heart with pride.

Has anyone posted a site plan for this? That lot just doesn't seem big enough to hold 4 sky scrappers. The U-haul is staying, right?

Its plenty big for 4 towers. Could squeeze in a fifth in if they really wanted to and only wanted the lot full of towers.

So, the marketing side of this is working. We live in Brunswick Georgia which gives us the advantage of being a couple hours drive from Charleston, Savannah, and St. Augustine. So, we take advantage as much as we can with day trips to these places. Saturday we went to St. Augustine for the day. We stopped at a patio bar for a drink before dinner to listen to some live music. I'm wearing an OKC Thunder shirt and the bartender sees it and says, "Hey, what do you think about OKC getting the tallest building in the US?" I chuckled and said that I liked the idea but was more excited about the rest of the development since it was more likely to happen. He replies, "Man OKC sure is an amazing, modern city. It's really cool to see." I looked up at him expecting him to be messing with me, but he was dead serious. So, just a small example but damn if that didn't fill my Okie heart with pride.
I love Brunswick., definitely had a “do their own thing” kinda vibe. Went to to this little brew pub bar right by the big bridge out there. And that sea turtle sanctuary up the road a bit was pretty cool.

I love Brunswick., definitely had a “do their own thing” kinda vibe. Went to to this little brew pub bar right by the big bridge out there. And that sea turtle sanctuary up the road a bit was pretty cool.

Yeah, we're enjoying it so far. It's a small town so we're getting used to the HUGE step back we have taken in the food scene from OKC. While the seafood is obviously outstanding, we do have to travel a little to get other stuff. But, the wife gets to go to the beach everyday for her daily walk with the dogs, so that's a big win for the household. lol

18591

Most critics over this project may not know Oklahoma City's history pertaining to skyscrapers. Remember the great skyscraper race of 1931....https://www.metrolibrary.org/archives/essay/2019/07/great-skyscraper-race#:~:text=A%20symbol%20of%20this%20optimism,mad e%20millions%20financing%20oil%20deals.

Up until 1970 I believe the almost 500 ft tall First National Tower was the tallest west of the Misssissippi...correct me if I'm wrong.

18592

And talk about density in the urban core prior to the Pei Plan....

18592

And talk about density in the urban core prior to the Pei Plan....

Yeah those are always fairly depressing to look at lol.

18591

Most critics over this project may not know Oklahoma City's history pertaining to skyscrapers. Remember the great skyscraper race of 1931....https://www.metrolibrary.org/archives/essay/2019/07/great-skyscraper-race#:~:text=A%20symbol%20of%20this%20optimism,mad e%20millions%20financing%20oil%20deals.

Up until 1970 I believe the almost 500 ft tall First National Tower was the tallest west of the Misssissippi...correct me if I'm wrong.

Uh, make that the 4th tallest when completed....

That is definitely painful to see all that density bulldozed. How did someone ever make a conscious decision to knock down that church looking structure west of the Montgomery???

That is definitely painful to see all that density bulldozed. How did someone ever make a conscious decision to knock down that church looking structure west of the Montgomery???

That’s the old court house. It was neglected for years and then burned down if I remember correctly

18592

And talk about density in the urban core prior to the Pei Plan....

I have looked for a long time of the old motor hotel that used to be on my lot. I had only seen one from when it was burning. (It is the capital E building in the middle of the bottom). Interesting to see the tall building on the corner of Reno and Walker that are now parking lots. Thanks for posting.

The PR is helping to highlight other great developments in OKC as well, which is pretty cool to see.

The PR is helping to highlight other great developments in OKC as well, which is pretty cool to see.

what is funny is the bottom pic is NOT from 2015 the edge was already built then ..

Even though this supertall is dubious, it has shined a light on OKC.

Just wait until the Olympic events are announced. Then we'll have the new arena in 5 years or so... You just can't buy that type of PR.

18592

And talk about density in the urban core prior to the Pei Plan....

This breaks my heart to look at!

This breaks my heart to look at!

Same here!

With all of the momentum in OKC right now, I would think that most of those historic brick buildings would be full today.

Lofts in the upper floors and cool storefronts lining those areas of downtown.

That's something that downtown OKC is really missing, in my opinion (I know that we still have remnants of what once was, thankfully).

All of those buildings collectively would've helped give OKC much more historic appeal, which I feel like more and more people are looking for these days.

It would be incredible if that kind of district could be rebuilt to mimic (somewhat) what used to be downtown :D

Even though this supertall is dubious, it has shined a light on OKC.

Just wait until the Olympic events are announced. Then we'll have the new arena in 5 years or so... You just can't buy that type of PR.

I heard Mayor Holt this morning and the goal is to open the new arena for the 2029 season.

Even though this supertall is dubious, it has shined a light on OKC.

Just wait until the Olympic events are announced. Then we'll have the new arena in 5 years or so... You just can't buy that type of PR.

No doubt it's been great publicity. People I work with from Amarillo, Tulsa, Dallas, Houston and many other places have directly asked me about this and they obviously aren't OKC development superfans that would've known about this project without the supertall. The response has been pretty cool.

I had relatives from San Diego send me a CNN link about this. They thought is was way cool.

https://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=970-4-tower-development-takes-another-step

Thank you

Hey Oklahomans! I've made this 3D Model of Boardwalk at Bricktown! Come check it out!
https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/warehouse/v1.0/content/public/387b7fc4-a31b-4610-aa1a-43c88e64bd36
https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/73b41797-f1b7-495d-a4fe-2e1da87db15c/The-Boardwalk-at-Bricktown

I wonder where he knows someone willing to throw a billion away? Maybe he has photos of an Arab sheik or something? Smh

Word is getting out. People are having fun with this. How Legends tower might look in other cities...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQrkz58ohcg

Oh man its all over. Ticktok and Youtube. I was at an event in another state recently, and the people at my table even knew about this thing. The buzz is really real, and from unexpected places.

I still don't think it will get built, at least not in that way, but man a lot of people are talking about it. Mostly in surprise about it being in OKC, but I've also been surprised about how many people are also saying "well good for you OKC".

Another opinion from an international design site: https://www.dezeen.com/2024/02/07/legends-tower-oklahoma-city-skyscraper-ryan-scavnicky-opinion/

Another opinion from an international design site: https://www.dezeen.com/2024/02/07/legends-tower-oklahoma-city-skyscraper-ryan-scavnicky-opinion/

Again, with tornadoes. If tornadoes were as big of a problem as many seem to think, then why are there many thousands of early to mid 20th century houses all over the city?

Again, with tornadoes. If tornadoes were as big of a problem as many seem to think, then why are there many thousands of early to mid 20th century houses all over the city?

i have no idea of the wind speeds needed to damage a skyscraper. But I imagine you do see a lot more cases of cyclonic activity 1500' above the surface than 20 ft above the surface

I think Miami and Ft Worth are the only places that have skyscrapers that have been hit, and honestly I think Ft Worth is the only actual downtown that I can think of that's been directly hit. In terms of the liklihood of a direct hit, it's just so unlikely and improbably. That couple of square miles compared to the entire state.

Now in Ft Worth, the Bank One building (correct me if i got that wrong) and the much smaller Cash America building, were both hit. I dont think Cash America was demolished. but there were plans to implode it before someone bought it and converted it. Honestly, pretty much all that happened was a bunch of glass got blown out. And that's really what happened with most of the buildings that got hit. Not nearly like what people think of when they think tornado damage. This was an F3, so it wasn't some little piddly thing either.

Would you have wanted to be sitting at your office desk when that blew through? No way. But if you were in the core in a protected space, you were fine.

So in my opinion, it's not really something that anyone should spend any time worrying about.

I hope no major downtown area gets hit by a tornado. The cleanup and rebuild would take years. Edit: Besides Ft Worth, as bad as that was it could have been worse if a mile wide tornado went straight through a commercial district with multiple supertalls.

Another opinion from an international design site: https://www.dezeen.com/2024/02/07/legends-tower-oklahoma-city-skyscraper-ryan-scavnicky-opinion/

Honestly, some of this commentary is starting to annoy me.


This means Legends Tower is a very 20th-century way to say that you are squarely entering the 21st century of cultural and economic change. Instead, Oklahoma City might do better to chop the single tower into five sections and place them in the immediate vicinity. It could establish a wide grassroots buy-in to small, dense and affordable revitalization projects along established transit corridors. Culture comes with that.

What do they mean Oklahoma City would be better to chop the big tower into smaller towers, Oklahoma City isn't who is proposing this. And it completely ignores that what they describe is to a certain degree already in progress in that exact area of the city considering Bricktown in general and the housing that has gone up with more proposed to be one the way.

^

All true and I tend to agree, but keep in mind the City is providing $200 million in incentives, and that's just for the first phase.

On the topic of skyscrapers withstanding tornadoes, downtown Waco was hit by an F5 in 1953, as was downtown Lubbock (initially rated F6) in 1970, both coincidentally happening on May 11. The Waco tornado was particularly destructive/deadly for the downtown area despite being the “smaller” of the two, but in both instances the two largest buildings (Waco, 282ft; Lubbock, 274ft) to survive being hit directly by an F5 tornado took place.

Pete, that $200 million in incentives for OKC is what many cities our size would love to have since it's going to result in a $736 million project similar to the $85.5 million investment OKC made in the $241 million Omni Hotel; obviously inflation costs related to construction continues to rise.

Deleted a bunch of posts and not-very-nice arguments about Tornado Alley.

Back to discussing this project, please.

Deleted a bunch of posts and not-very-nice arguments about Tornado Alley.

Back to discussing this project, please.

sorry Pete.

do we have any idea when we will see more on this? think they will start ground work or something soon for the first phase?