SandRidge to move downtown.

[jbrown84]

2 things I did not know:

Robert S. Kerr is Aubrey McClendon's great uncle.

American Fidelity actually bid on KMG tower. Did we ever have more than speculation on that? It seems that would be confirmation that they will move downtown.

[metro]

2 things I did not know:

Robert S. Kerr is Aubrey McClendon's great uncle.

American Fidelity actually bid on KMG tower. Did we ever have more than speculation on that? It seems that would be confirmation that they will move downtown.

Same thing here, only you beat me to posting it.

[Pete]

BTW, I doubt Tom Ward would be so interested in investing in downtown OKC (not just KM but the other properties as well) if he didn't expect the Sonics to be moving here very soon.

To me, his actions indicate that he and the other member of the Sonics' ownership group have already decided the team will be moving to OKC.

[Stinger]

BTW, I doubt Tom Ward would be so interested in investing in downtown OKC (not just KM but the other properties as well) if he didn't expect the Sonics to be moving here very soon.

To me, his actions indicate that he and the other member of the Sonics' ownership group have already decided the team will be moving to OKC.

Interesting thought!

[JWil]

BTW, I doubt Tom Ward would be so interested in investing in downtown OKC (not just KM but the other properties as well) if he didn't expect the Sonics to be moving here very soon.

To me, his actions indicate that he and the other member of the Sonics' ownership group have already decided the team will be moving to OKC.

That makes perfect sense and I totally agree with it. There was even a line in one of the stories talking about "and business will only get better when we have an NBA here for good."

So, let's see...

We have some of the most powerful OKC businessmen owning an NBA team.

Then we have a downtown OKC without a team.

Seems like a simple 2+2 thing to me.

[Easy180]

Absolutely...You know Bennett and co. were involved in this move as well

[Pete]

This was the quote from Ward... Notice he says 'once' not 'if':

“Oklahoma City has been very good for the energy business for the past 10 years,” Ward said. “Dominion and Kerr-McGee left, but we have two of the largest independents in Chesapeake and Devon. Companies will stay here because Oklahoma City will continue to have a great work ethic and it will continue to be a great place to live. Especially once the city gets a NBA team, things will really grow.”

[Pete]

SandRidge buys Kerr-McGee properties
by Kelley Chambers
The Journal Record
7/13/2007

OKLAHOMA CITY – SandRidge Energy Corp. on Thursday acquired Kerr-McGee buildings and property from Chesapeake Energy Corp., which obtained the properties from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in a separate deal.

Anadarko, based in The Woodlands, Texas, bought Kerr-McGee last year for $16.4 billion and moved its operations to Texas.

Aubrey K. McClendon, chairman and chief executive officer at Chesapeake, said he was happy to have returned the Kerr-McGee property to local use and ownership.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

“Several months ago, we began working with Anadarko on a significant property transaction involving a portion of their assets in the Deep Haley area,” McClendon said. “Along the way, it became clear that in order to bridge a valuation impasse, we would need an innovative way to create additional value for Chesapeake in the transaction. The Kerr-McGee properties became the last chip on the table to make the Anadarko-Chesapeake deal work for both parties.”

McClendon said Chesapeake had no use for the buildings so he contacted his friend and Chesapeake co-founder Tom L. Ward, now chairman and chief executive officer of SandRidge, to see if he would be interested in acquiring the property to house SandRidge, which is currently in The Tower on Northwest Expressway.

Ford Price, of Price Edwards and Co., said he applauded McClendon and Ward for getting the deal done and returning the building to local ownership.

“At the end of the day we end up with a great corporate citizen downtown,” Price said. “It would have been pretty tough on downtown if an investor had ended up with that building and was going to throw all that space on the market and make a competitive situation even more competitive.”

Anadarko spokesman John Christiansen said the global real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield handled the marketing for Anadarko.

He said from the time of the merger it was clear Anadarko always intended to sell the Kerr-McGee properties.

“We understand the significance and certainly the historic importance of that building, and those properties, so we’re pleased that the buyer is a local company,” he said.

Roy Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, said the announcement that Kerr-McGee’s 30-story tower would once again be occupied and re-energized by a local company was terrific news.

“This is by far the best possible scenario that could come out of it where the company is going to occupy it and put people in it,” Williams said. “There’s always that chance that you get an out-of-state investor who is either looking to flip the property or to sit on it and wait for it to appreciate as opposed to getting an owner-occupied tenant, because that is what is always ideal.”

SandRidge plans to renovate the Kerr-McGee Tower and move its headquarters to the building in late 2007 or early 2008.

Chesapeake and SandRidge also plan to jointly renovate and maintain the neighboring Kerr Park with a complete makeover by architect Rand Eliot of Elliot and Associates.

After Kerr-McGee was sold, Tronox Inc., a spinoff of Kerr-McGee that became its own company in March 2006, occupied space in the building until November when it relocated to Leadership Square.

One undetermined factor is a pending lawsuit filed last year against Kerr-McGee after a deal to convert some of the Kerr-McGee buildings along Robinson Avenue to condominiums and retail space fell apart after the sale to Anadarko.

The group developing the $30 million project was led by Anthony McDermid.

On Thursday, McDermid said the lawsuit was still pending and he had no idea how or when the issue would be resolved, or whom he might be dealing with.

“All my ownership knows is what we read in the press release,” McDermid said. “We have not been contacted by any of the parties to this transaction.”

Almost a year after the deal fell through, McDermid said his group has discussed going forward with the project if the opportunity presented itself, but added that they would have to re-evaluate it completely at this point.

“We have discussed that but things are so different now,” McDermid said.

SandRidge acquisitions

• Kerr-McGee tower, 30 stories, 123 Robert S.

Kerr Ave.

• 135 Building, 11 stories, 135 Robert S. Kerr

Ave.

• 111 Building, seven stories, 111 Robert S. Kerr

Ave.

• 324 Building, 10 stories, 324 N. Robinson Ave.

• Three surface parking lots northeast of the

Kerr-McGee tower.

• 70 acres south of the Oklahoma River and

east of the Downtown Airpark.

• Other property in southwest Oklahoma City.

Source: Sandridge Energy Corp.

[HOT ROD]

^ ^^ ^^^ I love it I love it!!!!

I agree with regard to the NBA Sonics/WNBA Storm, Ward is coming downtown to be part of the renaissance! His tone and message is very very clear to me!!!

Also, I especially like the tag line "Bell said Oklahoma City is behind Houston but is close to being even with Dallas in the energy world."

Now that is saying something, being even with Dallas in an industrial sector. Hopefully, we can continue to diversify and add to the city's liveability - then perhaps OKC could attract BACK those large numbers of Oklahoman's who moved to the DFW area for jobs and/or quality of life in the past. Maybe even original companies based in OKC would return, good news.

See, those who could not see it before now, with a hopping downtown [in the largest city] full of jobs, companies, and excitement - it brings your whole city (and state) up levels that can't be done otherwise.

One thing's for sure, should not be too hard to attract urban retail to downtown now, residents also.

Downtown OKC is where it's at, and I hope that this is JUST THE BEGINNING.

[metro]

Trial date set for Downtown OKC properties, Chesapeake acquires lawsuit
By Heidi Rambo Centrella - 7/13/2007


District Court Judge Noma Gurich today denied a request for a summary judgment filed by Kerr McGee Shared Services LLC, which would have prevented the company from having to face Corporate Redevelopment Group LLC in trial over breach of contract.


The suit, which included Downtown properties and approximately 70 acres south of Oklahoma River, between Walker and Western avenues, is scheduled for trial Sept. 10. The pretrial is scheduled for Sept. 5.


In yesterday’s real estate transactions, SandRidge Energy Inc. acquired from Chesapeake Energy Corp. real estate assets that Chesapeake acquired from Anadarko Petroleum. Anadarko had acquired the properties when it purchased Kerr-McGee Corp. Aug. 10, 2006.


Chesapeake also acquired the lawsuit involving the aforementioned properties, however, both Chesapeake and SandRidge have been indemnified.


“Chesapeake acquired the asset in an entity that would not be subject to the lawsuit,” said company spokesman Tom Price. “We have been indemnified… We indemnified SandRidge. It’s a real complicated process.


“The lawsuit is ongoing, and it is something that hopefully will be resolved in the not-so-distant future.”


Price said there are no plans to develop the 70-acre site.


“We’re not in the development business Downtown in south Oklahoma City,” Price said. “So it’s unlikely we would have any reason to do anything down there, but it’s assets that can be used in trade.”

[Pete]

At the very least, I hope McDermid & Co. gets compensated for breech so they can put those resources and their energy into other OKC properties.

It sounds like one way or another, those three smaller buildings will be redeveloped which will be good for downtown.

[okclee]

What ever happened to the previous president/owners/CEO's of Kerr McGee, after the buyout??

[Easy180]

I just posted the article where Ward mentioned "Once OKC gets an NBA team" on the Sonics forum to see what Seattleites think about the story

Won't be too excited two of the Sonics owners are hyping downtown and not throwing in an IF when mentioning an NBA team

[betts]

I just posted the article where Ward mentioned "Once OKC gets an NBA team" on the Sonics forum to see what Seattleites think about the story

Won't be too excited two of the Sonics owners are hyping downtown and not throwing in an IF when mentioning an NBA team

Is that a good idea? I remember some of the Charlotte Hornets fans telling us about the NO people going to their message board and rubbing in the fact that they were getting the Hornets. They're still much more bitter about those people's behavior than about the Hornets actually leaving. Maybe it's best to leave them alone. After all, it is their site and it's not very fun to envision the prospect of losing your team. The Seattle fans probably had almost nothing to do with the arena getting built or not, so it's not really their fault that the Sonics are at risk for moving.

[Easy180]

Is that a good idea? I remember some of the Charlotte Hornets fans telling us about the NO people going to their message board and rubbing in the fact that they were getting the Hornets. They're still much more bitter about those people's behavior than about the Hornets actually leaving. Maybe it's best to leave them alone. After all, it is their site and it's not very fun to envision the prospect of losing your team. The Seattle fans probably had almost nothing to do with the arena getting built or not, so it's not really their fault that the Sonics are at risk for moving.

No rubbing it in over there since no one knows what's going on and I don't post on any thread not related to them possibly moving...Zero taunting from me

Just wanted to get their feel of the story...So far they think it's nothing

After all the forum headline is something like Sonics bought by Oklahoma investors...What does this mean blah blah

[Doug Loudenback]

What's the link to your post, Easy180?

[Easy180]

Doug...I guess it's not my best moment on there...My article thread didn't go over very well...Didn't think it was a monumental article, but maybe one more sign of the things to come

To be honest with you I've had some pretty good discussions over there...Many of them got over their you don't belong here mode months ago

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Basketball Forum

[Kerry]

I just love the way the people in Seattle keep saying there is so much money in Seattle. Somehow they seem to forget that the Sonics are losing money and have been for years. That is why they were sold in the first place.

[Easy180]

I enjoy seeing their rants about Seattle and how superior it is to OKC...Like I'm going to take in what they say, digest it and then admit to them that I wish I lived in the extreme NW of the country

Man....A boy can dream can't he.... (Sigh)

[Pete]

Sat July 14, 2007
SandRidge tower purchase smells like success

By Richard Mize
Real Estate Editor

It was neither colorless nor odorless — but what a gas.

Two of Oklahoma City's most colorful companies, Chesapeake Energy Corp. and SandRidge Energy Inc., struck a deal to keep the former Kerr-McGee tower in play and off the market. It smells like success.


It was a small part of a $310 million energy transaction involving Chesapeake, SandRidge and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. — but the biggest real estate deal here all year.

"Just” $22.3 million for the tower and other buildings downtown — mere fumes compared to the overall transaction. But it was the biggest news since Anadarko picked up the property when it bought Kerr-McGee Corp. last year.

Anadarko, headquartered in The Woodlands, just north of Houston, seemed to just swoop in out of the blue and buy Kerr-McGee. It was a huge deal — a good deal for Kerr-McGee stockholders, a sad deal for lots of Oklahomans.

Anybody who knows anything about Oklahoma history, or the Oklahoma oil and gas business, knows Kerr-McGee like a cousin, and thinks of the late founders, Robert S. Kerr and Dean A. McGee, like great uncles or something.

The men, and their company, were that influential.

Kerr-McGee's buildings in downtown Oklahoma City were almost lost in the $18 billion Anadarko Petroleum purchase. The folks at Anadarko Petroleum would hardly even talk about them. They were just footnotes to the bigger energy transaction.

Here in Oklahoma City, there sat the 30-story Kerr-McGee tower, almost 500,000 square feet, with only one owner-occupier since it was built in the '70s. The prospect of it being dumped on the market was sobering, even with a downtown office market in the best shape since the '80s boom.

The cloud lifted Thursday when Chesapeake struck a deal with Anadarko for some natural gas plays in west Texas, western Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas. As part of the deal, Cheasapeake picked up the former Kerr-McGee tower and other buildings downtown, totaling more than 700,000 square feet.

Then, Chesapeake, in an Oklahoma two-step, turned around and sold the buildings to SandRidge, which is growing and needs the space, and is sure to keep growing after its pending initial public offering.

That 500,000-square-foot tower surely would have wound up in the hands of an investor who would have broken up the space to lease it out. Adding the space to the vacancy rolls would have been a big hit to downtown just when it's hitting its stride.

The Chesapeake-Anadarko deal actually hinged on the former Kerr-McGee real estate. It was a complicated transaction, but a close-knit one. Chesapeake chief Aubrey McClendon and SandRidge chief Tom Ward are old friends who co-founded Chesapeake — good old boys in the good sense.

"Knowing that Chesapeake did not have a need for Kerr-McGee tower, I contacted my friend ... Tom Ward to see if he would be interested in acquiring the Tower from us ...,” McClendon said. "Tom was very agreeable to my offer.”

Ward said, "I am also very happy that we were able to accomplish this transaction through working with Aubrey, my long-time friend ...”

The deal made some people think of a poker hand — especially since Price Edwards & Co. had declared Kerr-McGee tower the "wild card” in the downtown office market.

It made me think of an old "martini deal” — unlikely with Ward and McClendon. Maybe an "energy drink”deal.

Keeping the tower in the hands of an owner-occupier will keep a 500,000-square-foot bubble of vacancy from taking the shine off the thriving central business district.

Plus, SandRidge's move will add another local anchor — and another energy anchor — downtown.

It looks like the new generation of energy executives has taken heed of the old '80s post-bust bumper sticker: "Lord, grant us one more boom. We promise not to fritter it away.”

Well, you remember what it really said. If you don't, ask your dad.

[metro]

betts: Is that a good idea? I remember some of the Charlotte Hornets fans telling us about the NO people going to their message board and rubbing in the fact that they were getting the Hornets. They're still much more bitter about those people's behavior than about the Hornets actually leaving. Maybe it's best to leave them alone. After all, it is their site and it's not very fun to envision the prospect of losing your team. The Seattle fans probably had almost nothing to do with the arena getting built or not, so it's not really their fault that the Sonics are at risk for moving.

betts, I'm with you on this one. It's not very classy to rub it in their faces, it may come back to haunt us. On the other hand, seattle fans DID HAVE SOMETHING to do with it, not nothing like you mentioned. If more of the fans truly wanted the team, they could have petitioned their lawmakers more, voted for an arena, helped push better attendance even when the team was doing poorly, etc. There is plenty the common folk of Seattle could do and still can do to save the team. It's just obvious the majority of them don't really care. If they did, the lawmakers would support a new arena. The lawmakers aren't going to risk their political necks for something that isn't popular with the citizens (i.e. "fans").

[okclee]

Give the people of Seattle a break.

They have supported the Super Sonics for 40 YEARS!! Seriously 40 years with the NBA, that is impressive enough, and in that time I believe they have only one NBA title, so the fans aren't front runners.

Also I don't think the blame for the arena issues is the fans fault. They approved the Key Arena remodel ten years ago and tax money is still paying for that. The problem is the remodel was not a good plan to begin with, but I think we can relate to some of the tax funded projects not going as planned in Okc too.

Blame the Seattle politicians don't blame the Seattle Sonic fans.

[Easy180]

betts, I'm with you on this one. It's not very classy to rub it in their faces, it may come back to haunt us. On the other hand, seattle fans DID HAVE SOMETHING to do with it, not nothing like you mentioned. If more of the fans truly wanted the team, they could have petitioned their lawmakers more, voted for an arena, helped push better attendance even when the team was doing poorly, etc. There is plenty the common folk of Seattle could do and still can do to save the team. It's just obvious the majority of them don't really care. If they did, the lawmakers would support a new arena. The lawmakers aren't going to risk their political necks for something that isn't popular with the citizens (i.e. "fans").

I'm sorry metro...Can you point out a post of mine on there that is rubbing it in their face?...Majority on there believe they are gone anyway...Just discuss when and what Bennett's intentions are...Never taunted anyone on there...Hard to since we could easily get nada...Never say anything that could blow up in my face

The headline of the forum points out the potential move to OKC...Not sure why people perceive it to be rubbing it in their face when some Okies defend their city and try to get across the point an NBA team can be successful here

The story directly involves OKC or I wouldn't be in their bidness...Again

Just sports folks

[Doug Loudenback]

Doug...I guess it's not my best moment on there...My article thread didn't go over very well...Didn't think it was a monumental article, but maybe one more sign of the things to come

To be honest with you I've had some pretty good discussions over there...Many of them got over their you don't belong here mode months ago

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Basketball Forum

Thanks, Easy180 ... I read through the thread ... it doesn't seem that your post was well received as a "piece of information," for whatever it may be worth!

Surprise, surprise! Nice try, though!

[Easy180]

To be honest with you Doug...Just like a few others I jumped on when they were trashing OKC...If they hadn't I probably wouldn't have bothered signing up

Oh and one other reason I guess...It's been extremely slow at my work for months now