Devon buying Colcord

[streuli]

Devon buying Colcord

[metro]

That's insane! Now I definitely hope Devon doesn't get bought out by some Houston firm and then they stick it to the Colcord Hotel, just like Anadarko did to Kerr McGee and their properities. We probably lost for good the housing that was going to come out of that. I'll have to read the article though to find out more. I just read the headline and the teaser paragraph.

[metro]

Devon to buy Colcord Hotel
Journal Record
August 4, 2008

OKLAHOMA CITY – Devon Energy officials said Monday morning they plan to purchase the Colcord Hotel. Devon spokesman Chip Minty said Devon has signed a contract to buy the building and haven’t closed on the deal. No financial details or timelines were immediately available.

He said Devon will continue to operate the hotel, which is just to the east of the area where Devon plans to build its office tower the company announced earlier this year.“We want to be a good neighbor and we recognize the activity during our construction could affect the Colcord. Purchasing the hotel is the fair and honorable thing to do,” said Larry Nichols, Devon’s chairman and chief executive officer.

“The Colcord is a very nice boutique hotel that fills an important niche within the downtown community and we intend to preserve it. Devon is in a unique position to enhance the hotel in ways no one else can if we are named the developer by Urban Renewal.”

The hotel will remain open and continue under the current property management company, Coury Properties. “We intend to make improvements through further investment and incorporate the hotel into our adjacent headquarters project,” Nichols said.

[Pete]

This sounds very exciting. More money invested, more enhancements to an already great property.

Can't wait to see Devon's plans later this month, but the footprint of their development is going to be huge if it extends all the way to the Colcord.

[SouthsideSooner]

This sounds like a good move by Devon and great way to integrate the Concord into the project in a very positive way.

The Journal Record - Article

“The Colcord is a very nice boutique hotel that fills an important niche within the downtown community and we intend to preserve it. Devon is in a unique position to enhance the hotel in ways no one else can if we are named the developer by Urban Renewal.”

“We intend to make improvements through further investment and incorporate the hotel into our adjacent headquarters project,” Nichols said.”

[Doug Loudenback]

Devon is in a unique position to enhance the hotel in ways no one else can if we are named the developer by Urban Renewal.”

ENHANCE? Interesting choice of words, don't you think!

Thanks for the report, Ted!

[sroberts24]

this is great! Just adds to the presence they will have DT and shows their desire to improve our city!

[Pete]

It sounds like they may try and incorporate the lobby with their building/atrium.

If so, this will be a massive project, taking a full city block:

[NE Oasis]

This is a great deal for downtown OKC, particularly as we push the "more than just Bricktown" aspect of downtown. Devon has always been pro-OKC. Larry Nichols must have a plan to tie together his new HQ with the Colcord, AND take advantage of the fact the Colcord will appeal to visiting NBA teams due to their LONG king-size beds. Larry Nichols doesn't get the PR Aubrey McClendon does but he's one sharp businessman.

[metro]

On another note, Larry's father and co-founder of Devon, died this past weekend at the age of 93.

[sooner52]

Not a bad move for Devon. Not only is Devon being a responsible neighbor by minimizing the potential impact their construction will have on surrounding business ( buying those businesses is an interesting strategy ) but they are continuing to invest in CBD and downtown.

Also, this creates a nice situation for Devon...if the company continues to grow by leaps and bounds, I'm sure they'll have more and more visitors coming to downtown OKC for meetings and deals. They can host all of their high profile visitors in the historic Colcord - which they own. If I was coming in from another country or another part of the US, that would really impress me.

[jbrown84]

I hope they wont be attaching a modern building to this historic property. That would not be appropriate. Now what I would like to see them do is complete the "U" that was originally intended. They actually have the money to do that and do it right. It would be very expensive to mirror that architecture in this day and age.

[Pete]

That's an interesting notion that Devon might actually add on and 'complete' the Colcord. As it is, it's a pretty small hotel and if they want to use it to house corporate visitors, the will certainly need more capacity.

I trust Larry Nichols will treat this historic property with the respect it deserves.

[Doug Loudenback]

I hope they wont be attaching a modern building to this historic property. That would not be appropriate. Now what I would like to see them do is complete the "U" that was originally intended. They actually have the money to do that and do it right. It would be very expensive to mirror that architecture in this day and age.

Exactly what I was thinking jbrown ...



Let it be so!

[OKCisOK4me]

With all the construction cranes that have been falling over on to adjacent buildings lately, I believe it is a smart move on Devon's part to purchase the Colcord. Not likely to happen but a safe move none the less.

[OKCMallen]

That's an interesting notion that Devon might actually add on and 'complete' the Colcord. As it is, it's a pretty small hotel and if they want to use it to house corporate visitors, the will certainly need more capacity.

I trust Larry Nichols will treat this historic property with the respect it deserves.

I don't know...I mean, unless they have a whooooole lot of visitors, I bet it would suffice for some time as-is.

[jbrown84]

I'm definitely going to disagree with that Mallen. It's not as if Devon is the only corporation bringing in guests for various meetings and conferences. The Colcord absolutely could use more rooms. It would also benefit from having a ballroom or two and an indoor pool.

[Pete]

The Colcord only has 108 rooms and their largest meeting space is 1,300 square feet.

That's small even for a boutique hotel.

[OKCMallen]

I'm definitely going to disagree with that Mallen. It's not as if Devon is the only corporation bringing in guests for various meetings and conferences. The Colcord absolutely could use more rooms. It would also benefit from having a ballroom or two and an indoor pool.

Yet, that's exactly what I was talking about- if only Devon used it for their corporate housing.

[LordGerald]

Here are some more tangible details from a real Oklahoma City-based business paper, rather than the Tulsa-based one that Streuli runs...includes a rather foretelling quote from some guy named after an ice cream flavour.

Devon buys OKC's Colcord Hotel
By Heidi Rambo Centrella - 8/4/2008

Devon Energy Corp. announced in March its plans to construct a $350 million, 37-story building Downtown. Today, the company announced its intent to purchase the 108-room historic Colcord Hotel, 15 N Robinson Ave., situated adjacent from where its new headquarters will tower.
While neither party would disclose a purchase price, Paul Coury, president of Coury Collections who owns the property, said it was a fairly short negotiation process: “a couple of months.”

“Sometimes you just have to do what makes the most sense, and this made the most sense for both parties because they’re going to be constructing a very large building next to us…and obviously we can’t control how that goes or what happens (with construction),” he said.

In a statement, Larry Nichols, Devon’s chairman and CEO, said, “We want to be a good neighbor, and we recognize the activity during our construction could affect the Colcord. Purchasing the hotel is the fair and honorable thing to do.”

Coury Collections will serve as property manager, and says this purchase would not affect restaurateurs and tenants Alain and Michel Buthion’s Soleil French restaurant and XO Lounge.

However, Michel Buthion says he has yet to confirm that with Devon officials.

“Nothing has been discussed,” he said. “We don’t know where we stand. According to the hotel management, there’s no change… We’re waiting to hear from Devon. That’s the only thing I know.”

Occupancy at Colcord Hotel, which opened in October 2006, has improved substantially, Coury said.

“We had a rough start, but we had our best two or three months recently, so I would say it was working toward hitting its projections,” he said. “No question, the Skirvin (Hilton Hotel) had an impact on our opening.”

The hotel will remain open and continue under the current property management company, Devon officials said.

The contract between the two parties is signed; however, the deal will not close until Urban Renewal decides Aug. 20 whether to allow Devon to build their new headquarters.

“Devon is in a unique position to enhance the hotel in ways no one else can if we are named the developer by Urban Renewal,” Nichols said in a statement. “We intend to make improvements through further investment and incorporate the hotel into our adjacent headquarters project.”

Further, said Devon spokesman Chip Minty, "There's a real possibility we'll sell the Colcord once our project is complete," which is estimated to be in 2012.

[jbrown84]

So maybe it's not as much a part of the grand scheme as we were speculating. Just a "sweet flip" maybe?

[Pete]

Yeah, looks like it may just be a temporary thing which is far less encouraging.

But it's also understandable... I'm sure Nichols want to concentrate on their core competency rather than get too distracted with real estate investment and development.

[metro]

No, Larry's not after a "sweet flip", he'll do what's best for OKC. The real question is, what will Coury Properties do with the boatload of cash they will receive for this property. Yeah they are still property managers of the Colcord, but would they possibly be willing to renovate another downtown building into a hotel? Perhaps the old Hotel Black nearby? Nick Preftakes owns the building I believe and recently made many of the nearby tenants vacate. It's possible....

[FritterGirl]

All of this, plus other potential projects out there, represent just the smallest crumbs of what very well may be considered the "northern" horizon point for Core to Shore. Exciting indeed. Now go fill up your car today!

[tuck]

No, Larry's not after a "sweet flip", he'll do what's best for OKC. The real question is, what will Coury Properties do with the boatload of cash they will receive for this property. Yeah they are still property managers of the Colcord, but would they possibly be willing to renovate another downtown building into a hotel? Perhaps the old Hotel Black nearby? Nick Preftakes owns the building I believe and recently made many of the nearby tenants vacate. It's possible....

I'm not sure Coury will walk away with a ton of cash. I think this venture has under-performed from day one. I know all of the investors are thrilled about the transaction. I think it will be great for downtown; it is finally in the hands of a group with alot of capital.