Devon Plans Downtown Skyscraper

[OKCisOK4me]

I don't know how this might relate to the number of stories in Devon's new structure, but Tulsa's One Williams Center at 52 stories is either 770,000 square feet ... see Trizec Exits Tulsa with Sale of 770,000-Square-Foot Williams Center; Trizec Continues to Execute Investment Strategy to Recycle Capital from Non-Core Markets. | Banking & Finance > Financial Markets & Investing from AllBusiness.com ... or 1,373,733 square feet ... Williams Center Tower, Tulsa, OK. Office Leasing by the McKoy Company ... I don't know which (if either) is true ... probably the latter since LoopNet - Williams Center, Office Building, Tulsa, OK also shows it at 1,373,730 square feet. However, the larger number may include both Williams Center I and II, I don't know.

By comparison in Okc, Downtown Now, Commercial shows Okc's Chase Tower as 514,642 square feet. According to Downtown Now, Commercial , Okc's Oklahoma Tower is 568,960 square feet.

It sure as heck will be exciting to see Devon's 1,000,000 square foot tower rise to the sky!

By these numbers that would put Oklahoma Tower @ 18,353 sq. ft. average & Chase Tower @ 14,296 sq. ft. average per floors. If you were to average these two buildings out you'd get 16,325 which rounds out at about 61 stories for a new tall.

If the footprint were to be as big as JB set it at then I would hope that the building would angle out to smaller floor sizes as it goes higher and higher, otherwise you're looking at 11 stories. So I say that footprint goes.

I look for this building to be exactly what I figure above. Somewhere right in the middle of our two current biggest. Can't wait to see what's in store!!

[sgt. pepper]

Now we can expect Tulsa to build a tower, can't leave them out.

[Pete]

Another point of comparison is that big, boxy One Williams Center in Tulsa (the state's tallest) is about 22,000 sq. ft. per floor.

Also, the tallest building in Dallas -- BofA Plaza -- averages 26,000 sq. ft. per floor. That's just a massive building, though.

[okclee]

Does this annoucement come if the NBA / Ford center March 4 vote was a "NO"??

I don't think so, I believe once again that the people of Okc that believe in the future of downtown with MAPs 1,2, and "MAPs for millionaires" are the driving force behind this announcement and the future announcements that will follow this.

To borrow another members quote, "continue the renaissance".

[brianinok]

This is excellent news. I am out of town; have the local news stations been covering it? Have any said anything in addition to Steve's articles, or has he pretty much covered it? It certainly appears he's done a good job covering it.

[Pete]

It seems Steve has all the news and the local stations are just repeating what he's reported.

And Steve was also the first person in the press to hint at this development some time ago.

[okclee]

I believe that I read that the building should be completed in four years. Devon hoped to get approval from the Urban Committee in the next few months as well as have an architect selected.

If so then 2012 would be the time of Grand Opening, and the new crosstown I-40 has the same 2012 completion date. Just in time to officially kick off C2S.

This is very exciting news, many of us younger crowd have never witnessed a skyscraper being build in Okc.

[Doug Loudenback]

I think that Steve got an exclusive!

Here's the rendering in this morning's Oklahoman, as to location ...



I took some pics of the area from Myriad Gardens this morning and am working on a blog post as we speak. I'm going to try to superimpose the shell of a building in the area, but it will be amateurish at best, and not knowing the eventual height of the building or its actual footprint. I'll post pics again later with or without the "model" superimposed in the space.

[AFCM]

Great! I think the math was already done somewhere on here for a pad that size. Great news!

[Swake2]

I don't know how this might relate to the number of stories in Devon's new structure, but Tulsa's One Williams Center at 52 stories is either 770,000 square feet ... see Trizec Exits Tulsa with Sale of 770,000-Square-Foot Williams Center; Trizec Continues to Execute Investment Strategy to Recycle Capital from Non-Core Markets. | Banking & Finance > Financial Markets & Investing from AllBusiness.com ... or 1,373,733 square feet ... Williams Center Tower, Tulsa, OK. Office Leasing by the McKoy Company ... I don't know which (if either) is true ... probably the latter since LoopNet - Williams Center, Office Building, Tulsa, OK also shows it at 1,373,730 square feet. However, the larger number may include both Williams Center I and II, I don't know.

By comparison in Okc, Downtown Now, Commercial shows Okc's Chase Tower as 514,642 square feet. According to Downtown Now, Commercial , Okc's Oklahoma Tower is 568,960 square feet.

It sure as heck will be exciting to see Devon's 1,000,000 square foot tower rise to the sky!

Congratulations on the new tower, I really hope they choose a good architect, don't be afraid to go outside of Oklahoma and please, please don't go with Benham.

The BOK tower (formerly known as One Williams Center) is 52 floors and 1.2 million square feet, not including the former mall at the base. I think the mall (which is now just all office space) is another 500-600,000 square feet. Williams owns all of this still. The article you are referencing is talking about the same of the Williams Center Tower I and Williams Center Tower II buildings, they are across the street from the BOK tower and are the angular black buildings.

Cityplex in south Tulsa is actually 60 floors but is not as tall as BOK, all three buildings of Cityplex are 2.2 million square feet. The First Place Tower in Tulsa is 41 floors and the Midcon Tower is 36. I don't know how big they are though for comparison, I would guess they are each well under the 1 million square feet planned for your tower.

I would not be surprised at all to have George Kaiser build his own "BOK Tower". One that is not actually the owned by and the headquarters of another company (Williams). BOK owns a full block of land right next to the BOK Center, my guess is that will someday be the new headquarters of BOK. Oklahoma's largest company is the privately held Semgroup, and they might also want their own tower as well someday, they are currently located at Warren Place in south Tulsa. Oneok is also growing and might want to finish their building at some point. That building was started as a 60 floor tower taller than the BOK, but was capped off at 16 floors.

[Doug Loudenback]

Does this annoucement come if the NBA / Ford center March 4 vote was a "NO"??

I don't think so, I believe once again that the people of Okc that believe in the future of downtown with MAPs 1,2, and "MAPs for millionaires" are the driving force behind this announcement and the future announcements that will follow this.

To borrow another members quote, "continue the renaissance".

Who can say, but, personally, I doubt very much that this announcement hinged on the success of the March 4 vote. I think that the announcement would have come either way ... but it surely is another "March 2008" present to Okc, ain't it?

[Doug Loudenback]

Thanks for the good info, Swake. That helps put things in better perspective.

[metro]

Another point of comparison is that big, boxy One Williams Center in Tulsa (the state's tallest) is about 22,000 sq. ft. per floor.

Also, the tallest building in Dallas -- BofA Plaza -- averages 26,000 sq. ft. per floor. That's just a massive building, though.

I thought the old hospital building in Tulsa on the ORU campus was the tallest in the state, somewhere around 70 or 71 stories.

[metro]

Congratulations on the new tower, I really hope they choose a good architect, don't be afraid to go outside of Oklahoma and please, please don't go with Benham.

The BOK tower (formerly known as One Williams Center) is 52 floors and 1.2 million square feet, not including the former mall at the base. I think the mall (which is now just all office space) is another 500-600,000 square feet. Williams owns all of this still. The article you are referencing is talking about the same of the Williams Center Tower I and Williams Center Tower II buildings, they are across the street from the BOK tower and are the angular black buildings.

Cityplex in south Tulsa is actually 60 floors but is not as tall as BOK, all three buildings of Cityplex are 2.2 million square feet. The First Place Tower in Tulsa is 41 floors and the Midcon Tower is 36. I don't know how big they are though for comparison, I would guess they are each well under the 1 million square feet planned for your tower.

I would not be surprised at all to have George Kaiser build his own "BOK Tower". One that is not actually the owned by and the headquarters of another company (Williams). BOK owns a full block of land right next to the BOK Center, my guess is that will someday be the new headquarters of BOK. Oklahoma's largest company is the privately held Semgroup, and they might also want their own tower as well someday, they are currently located at Warren Place in south Tulsa. Oneok is also growing and might want to finish their building at some point. That building was started as a 60 floor tower taller than the BOK, but was capped off at 16 floors.

Either that, or if Tulsa leaders don't get their act together, some of these companies might consider downtown OKC as a relocation option.

[Decious]

For a 1 mil. plus square foot building I'm expecting it to be at least 43/44 stories tall. I'm glad that Nichols is harping on the fact that he wants it to be iconic. To me, that lessens our chances of getting an "Austin" type of pyramid structure. (DT Austin is awesome by the way) The math that they used to come up with the 37 story estimate assumed that the building would be a box. It won't be a box and be iconic so I think that we can rule anything below 40 stories out.

For me, anything around 570/600 ft. would be ideal. I'm afraid anything taller than that would stick out like a sore thumb. That is unless we get condo towers in the Core to Shore area....in that case Devon tower would be more centered and I'll be cool with a 60 story 650 ft monster!

Let's hope that it has a crown of some sort.

[Pete]

Metro, that's now called CityPlex and while it's 60 floors, isn't quite as tall as the 52-story Williams Center.

It was built as a hospital and for various reasons the floors aren't as tall. It's typical in hotels as well, because they don't have large, open spaces (just a series of smaller rooms) and don't need taller ceilings. They also don't get reconfigured like office space and therefore don't necessarily have suspended ceilings that allow for quick reworking of HVAC and electrical.

[Doug Loudenback]

I thought the old hospital building in Tulsa on the ORU campus was the tallest in the state, somewhere around 70 or 71 stories.

No, at least according to Emporis and Skyscraperpage.com, the building noted by Swake ...

Cityplex in south Tulsa is actually 60 floors but is not as tall as BOK, all three buildings of Cityplex are 2.2 million square feet. The First Place Tower in Tulsa is 41 floors and the Midcon Tower is 36. I don't know how big they are though for comparison, I would guess they are each well under the 1 million square feet planned for your tower.

... which is on or near the ORU campus, I think, has the most stories, but as he noted, Williams I (BOK) is the tallest ... again, according to not only him but Emporis and Skyscraperpage.com.

[Decious]

Either that, or if Tulsa leaders don't get their act together, some of these companies might consider downtown OKC as a relocation option.

Why? The problems in DT Tulsa have nothing to do with the business climate. Tulsa's working on residential and their overall urban fabric just like we are.

Thanks for the info Swake.

[OKCisOK4me]

This is very exciting news, many of us younger crowd have never witnessed a skyscraper being build in Okc.

I'll be 30 on Monday so this is kinda a cool gift for this news to come out. The only building I can ever remember being built and having seen it with my own eyes is the Valiant Bank building near Belle Isle. I guess I could include the Oklahoman place off of Britton & Broadway Extension...but that's short.

[metro]

Thanks for the correction on height on the CityPlex compound.

Decious, I agree Tulsa is working on their residential and urban fabric, however many believed Devon's committment was in part due to the citizen's committment to OKC and investing in our short-term and long-term future. Many thought Devon and other's could have possibly been bought out or eventually moved to Houston if we would have turned down bond and tax issues like Tulsa has. Why don't you think it's possible Tulsa companies might get frustrated with things not getting done in Tulsa and employees wanting a better urban quality of life. I think it's possible, although not at a high possiblility. Especially for smaller to midsize firms.

[Swake2]

Thanks for the correction on height on the CityPlex compound.

Decious, I agree Tulsa is working on their residential and urban fabric, however many believed Devon's committment was in part due to the citizen's committment to OKC and investing in our short-term and long-term future. Many thought Devon and other's could have possibly been bought out or eventually moved to Houston if we would have turned down bond and tax issues like Tulsa has. Why don't you think it's possible Tulsa companies might get frustrated with things not getting done in Tulsa and employees wanting a better urban quality of life. I think it's possible, although not at a high possiblility. Especially for smaller to midsize firms.

While I am still upset that the $270 million river tax failed you are not making an accurate representation of the reality in Tulsa. The river tax passed inside the city of Tulsa (it was a county vote) and even with the failure of the river tax, Tulsa has passed over a billion dollars in new taxes for civic and school improvements in just the last five years. On the river, even with the failure of the river vote, the Tulsa area has more than $1.5 Billion in development on the river either recently completed or in some stage of construction or planning.

[Decious]

Thanks for the correction on height on the CityPlex compound.

Decious, I agree Tulsa is working on their residential and urban fabric, however many believed Devon's committment was in part due to the citizen's committment to OKC and investing in our short-term and long-term future. Many thought Devon and other's could have possibly been bought out or eventually moved to Houston if we would have turned down bond and tax issues like Tulsa has. Why don't you think it's possible Tulsa companies might get frustrated with things not getting done in Tulsa and employees wanting a better urban quality of life. I think it's possible, although not at a high possiblility. Especially for smaller to midsize firms.

Cool. I'm glad that you really believe what you said and weren't just taking a swipe @ Swake.

I think that it's possible that a company would move from Tulsa to OKC, but I don't think that any decision would be based on the perceived "OKC forward" mentality.

I absolutely cannot fathom BOK, Williams, OneOK etc. moving to OKC. Why would they? Tulsa may be struggling with their DT reinvention in some areas that we are doing well in, but the cities are still pretty much the same. A canyon exists between Chicago and Tulsa.... I might give the gap between OKC and Tulsa the width of a pen.

In 15 years an unbiased outsider may indeed be able to see tangible differences between the two cities, but currently we're practically twins. Time and development may change that, but one decade will not. I can't imagine even one individual moving from Tulsa to OKC based on the NBA anymore that I can see someone uprooting themselves from OKC to move to Tulsa because they love trees. Even less of a chance that a father would uproot his family...Even less of a chance that a company would move multiple families. Why? Come to OKC to see Lebron or Bricktown and then take your ass home.

We might have a slight edge when it comes to companies from outside OK choosing a new OK address, but I don't see any migration from TUL to OKC happening.

I do agree that some smaller companies may move to OKC from Tulsa just not the larger ones and definitely not the huge ones. Even then....if the smaller company decides to move....they'll probably just stop in OKC for gas on their way to Dallas.

Back to topic for me.

I hope that this new building has a crown.

[jbrown84]

I would not be surprised at all to have George Kaiser build his own "BOK Tower". One that is not actually the owned by and the headquarters of another company (Williams). BOK owns a full block of land right next to the BOK Center, my guess is that will someday be the new headquarters of BOK. Oklahoma's largest company is the privately held Semgroup, and they might also want their own tower as well someday, they are currently located at Warren Place in south Tulsa. Oneok is also growing and might want to finish their building at some point. That building was started as a 60 floor tower taller than the BOK, but was capped off at 16 floors.

How do you feel about the prospect of BOK vacating that building? Is there anyone to fill that space in BOK Tower if they build a new one? That's a lot of space. While Tulsa overall is doing pretty well (better than 5 year ago), I personally don't see a draw to downtown per se. Even OKC, with all that's going on downtown, has a hard time drawing companies downtown as opposed to the suburban office parks.

[autoMATTic]

If the building goes where they say it will then the Colcord Hotel should BANK off thi$. Imagine staying next door to your 8A conference.

[Nuclear_2525]

Im sorry if I missed it, but what is the construction time on the building?