Boardwalk at Bricktown / Dream Hotel

[Duane821]

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

[Bellaboo]

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.

[PhiAlpha]

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.

[Bellaboo]

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

[Zorba]

https://www.okctalk.com/content.php?...s-another-step

Thank you

[LincolnLover2005]

Hey Oklahomans! I've made this 3D Model of Boardwalk at Bricktown! Come check it out!

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/mod...k-at-Bricktown

[mugofbeer]

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

[chestercheetah]

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

[bombermwc]

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".

[dwellsokc]

Another opinion from an international design site: https://www.dezeen.com/2024/02/07/le...nicky-opinion/

[ChrisHayes]

Another opinion from an international design site: https://www.dezeen.com/2024/02/07/le...nicky-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?

[CatholicSooner]

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

[bombermwc]

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.

[jn1780]

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.

[David]

Another opinion from an international design site: https://www.dezeen.com/2024/02/07/le...nicky-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.

[Pete]

^

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.

[Mississippi Blues]

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.

[Laramie]

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.

[Pete]

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

Back to discussing this project, please.

[jedicurt]

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?

[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?

The next step would be the submittal of a new PUD that if approved would allow for height variances and the general design of Phase I.

That hasn't been filed as of yet.

It may be that when it is filed, they will also include more detailed plans for at least Phase I, as there is often a 'Master Design Statement'. Could also include more renderings but it's not required.

Then, and hopefully shortly thereafter, they have to submit detailed plans for design review.

After all that, they will then file their building permit applications and on a project of this scale, it usually takes many months of back-and-forth before it is issued.


I believe Matteson said they wanted to break ground this year, but they'd better be hustling behind the scenes and even then that would represent an ambitious timeline.

[Pete]

Make of this what you will:

***************
Who is Scot Matteson, the developer planning the tallest tower in the US?
A virtual unknown has big ambitions in Oklahoma City
JAN 28, 2024, 7:00 AM
By Ted Glanzer



Several questions were prompted by recently publicized plans to build the country’s tallest tower in, of all places, Oklahoma City.

One is: Who is Scot Matteson, the developer pitching such a project?

In its current iteration proposed on Jan. 22, The Boardwalk at Bricktown would include four towers and 2.7 million square feet of space across nearly 4 acres, with 1,900 residential units, a 480-key hotel and 110,000 square feet of retail and restaurants.

The centerpiece would be the tallest tower in the U.S., a 1,907-foot supertall that would dwarf the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center. Another three towers would each rise 345 feet.

“Oklahoma City is experiencing a significant period of growth and transformation, making it well-positioned to support large-scale projects like the one envisioned for Bricktown,” Matteson, 63, said in a press release.

The developer, however, has an opaque background.

Neither of Matteson’s companies cited in the press release — Matteson Capital and Centurion Partners — have a website.

Details of his completed projects are sparse, other than what he has told the press. He claims to have 40 years of development experience and to have been involved in The Residences at Little Nell in Aspen, Colorado, the Icon Hotel in Houston, the Sapphire Tower condominiums in San Diego and Miami, and “a 5,000-acre master plan in Tuscany, Italy.”

Prior to 2020, most of what was written about Matteson had to do with his brief relationship with Shannon Beador, a cast member of the “Real Housewives of Orange County.” Their relationship lasted about six months in 2018. During that time, salacious allegations about the couple were published in online tabloids, which told of bounced child support checks and too much drinking.

There is a 2006 Aspen Times feature about Centurion Partners’ co-founders, Matteson and two others development plans for Aspen, including building Residences at The Little Nell.

A 2016 court record shows a small claims case for an unspecified amount of less than $10,000 filed against Matteson — which is nothing compared to the 8-, 9- and 10-figure lawsuits many large developers face throughout their careers. The case was mediated two years later. It’s unclear if it was connected to his business dealings.

In addition to listing Matteson Capital and Centurion Partners in his employment history, his LinkedIn profile says he had a four-year stint as executive chairman and founder of Quiksilver Hotels & Resorts International from 2013-2017. Like Matteson’s other ventures, there is very little information on the company.

A LinkedIn page describes it as “a newly-formed hospitality company that will manage, acquire, and develop luxury hotel and resort projects using the Quiksilver brand.” Some news outlets ran stories about the company’s strategy in 2014, as well as its plans to build a $350-million-dollar “world class” surf resort in Palm Desert. Ten years later there are still no signs of the resort.

Aside from his brief high-profile relationship, little else is out there on his personal life. A Facebook account bearing his name says that he’s a pancreatic cancer survivor and a widower. And a 2019 GoFundMe page set up by his four daughters includes Matteson’s picture and an appeal to raise $100,000 to help him fight Stage 3 pancreatic cancer. Around $15,000 from 77 donors has been raised as of Jan. 26.

Since 2020, however, Matteson has almost no digital footprint, until he resurfaced with The Boardwalk at Bricktown plans.

While it’s hard to get a clear picture of who Matteson is, what is plainly in focus is why a developer would eye OKC for a major project. It’s one of the fastest-growing markets in the U.S., having expanded its population from about 400,000 to more than 600,000 over the past 10 years. It’s also got a new $900 million downtown arena on the way for its NBA team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Still, in a city like OKC, where the skyline is far more modest than other urban centers, a supertall flanked by three much shorter towers would stand out like a huge middle finger to the Southwest. Perhaps that is an implicit statement the clandestine developer is hoping to make?

Matteson’s partners have expressed doubts about the project becoming a reality.

Randy Hogan, an Oklahoma developer who is partnering with Matteson on the project, called the supertall proposal “aspirational,” according to The Oklahoman. And that was back when the plans called for the tower to rise only 1,750 feet.

But Matteson insists that he is determined to push forward.

“I’m used to being told you can’t do things,” he told The Oklahoman in December. “But I’m used to getting it done.”

While that’s bold talk, his ability to back it up could be met with a slew of challenges, particularly in securing financing when interest rates are high and distress is piling up everywhere across sectors.

So how Matteson can pull this off — or whether he has to rethink his plans altogether — will remain unanswered questions for now.

[EtanEiko]

Damn, that makes me not feel good at all even about the 3 towers :'(

[Jake]

What was the quote someone on here said? “Oklahoma City is a great place for a scam.”

[bison34]

The 3 towers, I am very comfortable in happening. The other tower was always aspirational.