First National Center

[warreng88]

Iconic First National Center set to reopen

Oklahoma City's third tallest building is set to reopen early next year as a hotel and apartment complex with 8 eating and drinking establishments.

The 193 luxury apartments, known as The First Residences at First National, are currently leasing and will welcome their first tenants starting February 1st, 2022.

The 146-room hotel will open on March 1st and be known as The National, part of the exclusive Autograph Collection by Marriott.

First National Center is actually 3 separate structures: The 33-story art deco Tower built in 1931; the 14-story Center building finished in 1956; the East building opened in 1974.

The Tower has been extensively renovated to include the apartments and hotel rooms. The stunning Great Banking Hall has been painstakingly restored, including the decorative painted ceilings, stone columns, and several large murals. The huge skylight has also been renovated, once again bringing natural light into the marble-lined space.

The hall, originally used by First National Bank, will serve as a public lobby as well as a bar, cafe, and event space.

Atop the two wings of the tower, a new pool, deck, and dog park have been installed.

The Center and East buildings were gutted and now provide 620 parking spaces. The Arcade, on the ground floor and spanning from Robinson to Broadway, has been completely renovated.

In the basement, a restaurant and bar will occupy the former bank vault area. The former Beacon Club space at the very top of the tower will reopen as a bar.

After First National Bank failed in 1980, the complex saw a variety of owners. In 2015, the few remaining tenants vacated and the building was placed into receivership. In 2017, the property was purchased by a group led by Gary Brooks and Charlie Nicholas and the restoration plans were announced.

After many broken promises by previous owners, the reopening represents years of work and over $200 million in investment in the heart of Oklahoma City's central business district.

https://firstnationalokc.com/
https://thefirstokc.com/
https://thenationalokc.com/

There's a reason Gary Brooks thinks he can charge $300+ per night at the hotel and $3/sf for the apartments and now it's pretty GD obvious why... just wow...

[Better OKC]

So beautiful, it's hard to put into words!

[soonerguru]

I will say that it would be nice to have a bit of parity with fine veg/vegan places (and I'm neither of those, just have lots of friends that are).

A good seafood joint seem like a concept whose time has come. Interested to find out more about Chef Black's concept for First National.

[HangryHippo]

A good seafood joint seem like a concept whose time has come. Interested to find out more about Chef Black's concept for First National.

Agreed on both.

[BridgeBurner]

This place is absolutely class. It looks like a place you'd see straight out of New York City with the way it's done! This is brilliant! The designer really kept to the integrity of the structure in many areas, while providing a 21st century style in others that don't take away from the classic appeal. This is a remodel done right.

I can expect some movie scenes being made here, especially of the espionage and rom-com variety. Prairie Surf Studios might actually rent out the place to shoot a scene here. It's that well-done.

Haha I was having the same thought about Prairie Surf except about using the Great Banking Hall for a heist movie.

[CCOKC]

That sounds great. I love those kind of places. Any idea what the hours will be?

[Sooner.Arch]

Pete, how do you feel about the lighting in the main lobby now? I remember it used to be pretty dark and the original plan was to restore the skylight. Do you think the lights they installed behind the glass on the ceiling mimic natural light well (what we were told it would do)? I'm sure all the cleaning and restoration helped with brightening that space too.

[Pete]

Pete, how do you feel about the lighting in the main lobby now? I remember it used to be pretty dark and the original plan was to restore the skylight. Do you think the lights they installed behind the glass on the ceiling mimic natural light well (what we were told it would do)? I'm sure all the cleaning and restoration helped with brightening that space too.

I'll be taking a tour soon and will let you know.

[Southsider2]

Was fortunate enough to take a tour of the FNC today and my Goodness... This is such a great thing for the City. The overall quality and finish levels are fantastic. We saw a few of the hotel rooms, some seemed a bit small but others had nice tall ceilings and were pretty decently sized. The restaurant spaces and bars are pretty damn cool but still had a ways to go to being finished. The journey downstairs to the vault is very cool. It's definitely a great blend of preservation and modernization throughout. They're really leaning into the bank theme which is a nice touch. The last thing he told us is that they're working on a few luxury clothing/apparel stores for the retail spaces along Park Ave.

[Ross MacLochness]

Here's a photo I took a few weeks back:

[Bowser214]

Really nice photo Ross!

[HOT ROD]

Was fortunate enough to take a tour of the FNC today and my Goodness... This is such a great thing for the City. The overall quality and finish levels are fantastic. We saw a few of the hotel rooms, some seemed a bit small but others had nice tall ceilings and were pretty decently sized. The restaurant spaces and bars are pretty damn cool but still had a ways to go to being finished. The journey downstairs to the vault is very cool. It's definitely a great blend of preservation and modernization throughout. They're really leaning into the bank theme which is a nice touch. The last thing he told us is that they're working on a few luxury clothing/apparel stores for the retail spaces along Park Ave.

Now that's what I want to hear! Can't wait for Park Ave to be reactivated back to OKC's High Shopping street!

[Urbanized]

I know at least one of the retailers, but since I don’t believe it’s been announced yet I’ll not reveal it here. Will just confirm that it’s definitely upscale, and also wisely targeted a bit at hotel guests from out of town.

[chssooner]

I know at least one of the retailers, but since I don’t believe it’s been announced yet I’ll not reveal it here. Will just confirm that it’s definitely upscale, and also wisely targeted a bit at hotel guests from out of town.

Is it a new to market store?

Either way, a great get for downtown!

[Urbanized]

Is it a new to market store?

Either way, a great get for downtown!

Haha sorry to be cryptic and evasive but if I answered that question properly it would set off an online speculation/investigation that might ultimately give it away via process of elimination. Just trying to be respectful of the developer and the tenant and let them be in charge of their own messaging.

[HOT ROD]

great news nonetheless, thanks Urbanized!

hope there's many more to repopulate Park Ave high street.

[DowntownMan]

Have any residents starting moving in yet? I think Pete had reported apartments were opening February 1 a few weeks ago. Is that still the case? Has anyone heard?

Also is the hotel still set for March 1? Excited to see this open and take a walk thru it. I noticed the removed all the construction fencing and the sidewalks around the property are all open again as of this week or the last

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^^
Residential move-ins were pushed back a couple of weeks but the first residents are still moving in this month. Not sure whether the hotel opening was impacted. I saw Gary today at lunch but didn't ask him about the hotel opening. I'm sure it's still very close to March 1.

[dcsooner]

Any gauge on the apartment pre-opening leasing rate/percentage. This place is so much nicer overall than anything to date in OKC

[Urbanized]

Any gauge on the apartment pre-opening leasing rate/percentage. This place is so much nicer overall than anything to date in OKC

I mentioned this upthread: "Around $3/sq ft for a ~1250 sq ft two bedroom unit, closer to $3.50/sq ft for one bedrooms ranging from ~860 to ~1K. Prices vary by floor and directional exposure, which also influence some finishes and appliance types. I know there are larger (and more upscale) units but I don’t have any info handy on them."

As far as number leased so far the last time I spoke to someone about it there were around 12-15 move-ins scheduled for February, most of which came from pre-leasing to folks who were already on a waiting list. It was more than a month ago that I asked, and they had just recently begun showing to non-waitlist members of the general public. I think leasing has been fairly brisk.

[Pete]

From their website, rents start at $1,825 for a studio to $11,590 for a large 3 bedroom.

https://thefirstokc.com/floorplans/

[Anonymous.]

I wonder if they will ever considering selling some. Those prices for the larger units are pretty incredible for OKC.

[Urbanized]

From their website, rents start at $1,825 for a studio to $11,590 for a large 3 bedroom.

https://thefirstokc.com/floorplans/

Ah, good to see that they now have pricing listed with the units.

[PhiAlpha]

I wonder if they will ever considering selling some. Those prices for the larger units are pretty incredible for OKC.

yeah $11k+ is nuts. Power to them if they can get it but it would be hard to imagine anyone paying rent that high here especially when buying is so affordable.

[T. Jamison]

I wonder if they will ever considering selling some. Those prices for the larger units are pretty incredible for OKC.

Historic Tax Credits require the property to remain an income-producing property for 5 years after the rehabilitation is complete. So they probably won't be selling any units for at least another 5 years if they ever decided to.