Dowell Center

[warreng88]

134 Robert S. Kerr
owner=Rick Dowell
height=243 feet / 19 floors
sq. feet=184,426

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[bombermwc]

New day for Dowell Center: Developer renovating skyscraper, targeting small businesses for tenants

By Brianna Bailey
Oklahoma City reporter - Contact 405-278-2847
Posted: 08:07 PM Tuesday, September 7, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY – Developer Richard Dowell plans to court small businesses to lease space in downtown’s vacant Dowell Center after a large-scale $2.2 million asbestos removal project there wraps up at the end of the year.

About 13,000 square feet of office space on the first two floors of the Dowell Center will be available for lease at the end of the year, while extensive renovations begin on the rest of the building. The total cost of the overhaul on the more than 80-year-old building is estimated to be about $9.5 million.

Dowell’s company, Dowell Properties Inc., also plans to take up at least part of the 8,000 square feet of office space on the 20th floor of the building.

How long it takes to renovate the building depends on interest from tenants, Dowell said.

Dowell isn’t worried about competition for tenants from other downtown properties because he plans on luring small business tenants away from the suburbs.

“It’s about time downtown had a little revenge on the suburbs by drawing tenants back,” he said. “It’s a reverse of the situation it was 10 years ago.”

Each office space will have its own metered heat and air, as well as its own bathrooms, cutting down on costs for Dowell, who said he can turn a profit on the roughly 192,000-square-foot structure even if it’s just 10 percent occupied.

A 310-space parking garage is part of the property, but Dowell plans to expand it by 400 spaces as part of renovations on the building.

The 20-story building at 134 Robert S. Kerr Ave. was the tallest structure in the city when it was completed in 1927. Over the years, the Dowell

Center has housed Kerr-McGee Corp. and The Journal Record. It’s been completely vacant for the past few years while undergoing asbestos removal.

The Dowell Center is just down the street from the planned site of the SandRidge Commons project, which will replace a block of abandoned buildings with SandRidge Energy’s new $100 million corporate headquarters.

Together with the SandRidge project, remodeling the Dowell Center will drastically change the face of several key blocks of downtown, said Jane Jenkins, president and chief executive of Downtown OKC Inc.

“Occupied space is good for downtown and marketing the space to small and midsized companies is a nice niche for the downtown office market,” Jenkins said.

The asbestos removal project has been partially funded with a brownfields redevelopment loan from Oklahoma City. The program offers financing to help clean up abandoned buildings with environmental hazards using federal funding. Part of the brownfields funding for the Dowell Center came from a chunk of federal stimulus money awarded to the Environmental Protection Agency.

“We don’t like empty buildings in this city and the Dowell Center is certainly a featured building in Oklahoma City,” said Chris Varga, brownfields coordinator for Oklahoma City. “It’s a nice skyscraper and it would be great to have that place active again and have it full of people.”

[Kerry]

Where is the 310 space parking garage? The only parking garage I see is the one Sandridge said they were going to tear down to build their activity center.

[UnFrSaKn]

http://www.abandonedok.com/dowell-center/

[Kerry]

http://www.abandonedok.com/dowell-center/

I know where the Dowell Center is but where is the parking garage they are expanding from 310 space to 400 spaces? The only parking garage on that lot is slated for destruction by Sandridge to build their Activity Center building? Is Sandridge trying to pull a fast one by showing a plan to build a new building on land they don't even own, or is the Dowell garage somewhere else?

[DelCamino]

I know where the Dowell Center is but where is the parking garage they are expanding from 310 space to 400 spaces? The only parking garage on that lot is slated for destruction by Sandridge to build their Activity Center building? Is Sandridge trying to pull a fast one by showing a plan to build a new building on land they don't even own, or is the Dowell garage somewhere else?

That's quite the knee jerk reaction. Why automatically make a wild and unbased comment about SandRidge pulling a fast one? Yeah, they are redeveloping their property in a manner that some don't agree with, but they've done nothing to warrent a commment like that. According to public records, they own the property you question.

Having said that, I too wonder what garage Dowell is talking about because I can't think of any other adjacent parking facility that he is referring to.

[Kerry]

That's quite the knee jerk reaction. Why automatically make a wild and unbased comment about SandRidge pulling a fast one? Yeah, they are redeveloping their property in a manner that some don't agree with, but they've done nothing to warrent a commment like that. According to public records, they own the property you question.

Having said that, I too wonder what garage Dowell is talking about because I can't think of any other adjacent parking facility that he is referring to.

That is why I was asking. I am sure if Sandridge didn't own the garage they were tearing down we would have heard about it by now. BTW - for those interested in what the Sandridge area will look like without the existing buildings take a look at downtown OKC in 3D on Google Earth. The buildings slated for demo are not there so you get a sense of what the area will look like (minus native grass of course).

[Pete]

I believe the garage he is referencing is at 4th & Harvey:

[BoulderSooner]

I believe the garage he is referencing is at 4th & Harvey:

dowell garage moving forward at this weeks planning commission meeting Item 4. B 30

[HangryHippo]

dowell garage moving forward at this weeks planning commission meeting Item 4. B 30

That is one ugly ass garage.

[OKC@heart]

Wow, that parking garage is like a blank canvas that is begging to be painted on. Let's hope that some money is alotted for some attention to making this block building look less institutionally cold and imposing!!! It kills me when I see buildings with great corners that completely miss the opportunity to do something to make the corner memorable and inviting. This one IS memorable but for the wrong reasons...

[Pete]

Here's another photo and a link to it's website (the garage is connected to the building via the Underground):




http://www.dowellproperties.com/garage.html

[DelCamino]

That's right, Pete - the Dowell Garage, about 2 blocks north/west of the Dowell Center. I was only thinking of properties immediately near his renovated building. Thanks.

I recall working with Dowell on several projects, and I remember now in those conversations, he said he had room to expand this garage. Taking a look at the above photo (the view is looking south), the west side of the garage is where he said, and it can be seen in this photo, he could add-on additional parking.

The garage may not be the best looking one around, but you should have seen it before Dowell added the cinder block brick facade. It was merely a blue and white colored sheet metal covering. You can still see it on the west side, altho it's been painted a different color.

[OKC@heart]

That's right, Pete - the Dowell Garage, about 2 blocks north/west of the Dowell Center. I was only thinking of properties immediately near his renovated building. Thanks.

I recall working with Dowell on several projects, and I remember now in those conversations, he said he had room to expand this garage. Taking a look at the above photo (the view is looking south), the west side of the garage is where he said, and it can be seen in this photo, he could add-on additional parking.

The garage may not be the best looking one around, but you should have seen it before Dowell added the cinder block brick facade. It was merely a blue and white colored sheet metal covering. You can still see it on the west side, altho it's been painted a different color.

Now that you mention that I seem to remember how bad it looked prior to the facade being added. We have gone from holy crap! to just crap! Let's hope in the next move we can go to something that will better reflect a vision of the future of OKC. But I know economic factors rule so not holding my breath.

[Spartan]

That's right, Pete - the Dowell Garage, about 2 blocks north/west of the Dowell Center. I was only thinking of properties immediately near his renovated building. Thanks.

I recall working with Dowell on several projects, and I remember now in those conversations, he said he had room to expand this garage. Taking a look at the above photo (the view is looking south), the west side of the garage is where he said, and it can be seen in this photo, he could add-on additional parking.

The garage may not be the best looking one around, but you should have seen it before Dowell added the cinder block brick facade. It was merely a blue and white colored sheet metal covering. You can still see it on the west side, altho it's been painted a different color.

I can not tell if you're really being sincere or just making crap up since you didn't seem to know earlier in the thread, but adding on to the west side will not give you 400 new parking spots. It will have to be vertical.

[CaseyCornett]

If the garage featured in the photos is the one that is about to expand...thank you thank you thank you. I have been parking on the third floor of that garage for the past 2.5 years. I love that it is connected to the Underground but I am really surprised I don't see accidents happen every day in that lot.
I am not at all familiar with any official "parking codes" but if some exist I wonder how in the world this garage passed the test.

[metro]

That's right, Pete - the Dowell Garage, about 2 blocks north/west of the Dowell Center. I was only thinking of properties immediately near his renovated building. Thanks.

I recall working with Dowell on several projects, and I remember now in those conversations, he said he had room to expand this garage. Taking a look at the above photo (the view is looking south), the west side of the garage is where he said, and it can be seen in this photo, he could add-on additional parking.

The garage may not be the best looking one around, but you should have seen it before Dowell added the cinder block brick facade. It was merely a blue and white colored sheet metal covering. You can still see it on the west side, altho it's been painted a different color.

Exactly. I used to have a monthly pass there a few years back. It is a hard garage to park in as well, super steep ramps. It was a very old, poorly constructed garage that Dowell bought years ago. The new facade was a major improvement, despite it still being so plain. I doubt it, but hopefully he will demolish and rebuild a new modern garage with proper ramps, etc. I encourage some of you to go check out the construction of this garage on it's interior! Dowell is a prudent investor though and although not the popular guy, he is probably the smartest downtown investor, even if he sits on things forever until they make financial sense to do so.

[Pete]

The land he owns to the west is slightly larger than the footprint of the current garage, so I bet his plan is to do the same sort of thing right next to it.

And maybe in the process, he can upgrade the facade. Since it's just cinder block, it would be easy to add a veneer and architectural elements.

Dowell has done a good job with his Midtown properties, so here's hoping he raises the garage(s) to the same sort of standard.

[BDP]

The total cost of the overhaul on the more than 80-year-old building is estimated to be about $9.5 million.

Man, that number sounds awfully familiar... I hope they are content to wait a few generations before they see any return.

[Kerry]

To All - he isn't adding 400 new spots, he is exanding to 400.

I don't know how he will break even at 10% occupancy when we just learned a few weeks ago that old downtown properties aren't viable even at 125% occupancy.

[Spartan]

To All - he isn't adding 400 new spots, he is exanding to 400.

I don't know how he will break even at 10% occupancy when we just learned a few weeks ago that old downtown properties aren't viable even at 125% occupancy.

"A 310-space parking garage is part of the property, but Dowell plans to expand it by 400 spaces as part of renovations on the building."

[Kerry]

"A 310-space parking garage is part of the property, but Dowell plans to expand it by 400 spaces as part of renovations on the building."

Thanks for the correction Spartan. If he is going to turn that space into a 710 car parking garage he is going to have to go vertical, no doubt about it. With all the former Devon parking spaces becoming available I am surprised he is adding so many new spaces of his own. Is the Sonic Center parking garage still being used?

[metro]

Duplicate thread

[HOT ROD]

I am happy Dowell is targeting small/medium businesses. Downtown needs a mix of employers and OKC has tried only to focus on large or very small but nothing in the middle. This is where most business exists and it is about time somebody in downtown went after it.

OKC really needs to move ahead with this in other buildings as well as the idea of being a back-office to the big boys in New York and Chicago. This is a relatively easy way downtown and OKC can grow, absorb and build new space, and create a vibrant downtown and city full of office workers, professionals, and residents/visitors.

[Pete]

Anybody have an update on Dowell Center?

In the first article of this thread, it mentioned having at least some tenants in by the end or 2010 but as far as I know, it's still completely empty.

Are they still working on it?