Devon Energy highrise???

[okcsince1987]

I am deployed to Afghanistan so time on the computer is limited. Haven't seen anything on the development of the new building. Have they canceled it???

[Chicken In The Rough]

No, it is still underway. They recently named the contractor, and I believe they are planning for the initial site work to begin this Fall. They claim this project is fully financed and was not affected by the banking crisis.

[Pete]

Construction is set to start Oct. 1.

[mugofbeer]

This building will be an amazing landmark for OKC but does anyone else agree with me that it might be TOO tall for the surrounding buildings? I almost wish they had stopped at maybe 750 feet and then built a 2nd smaller and complementary tower. It will be cool to see such a landmark in OKC tho. one way or the other.

[OKC74]

Not at all...I think the height will spur OTHER development of high-rises...but...we know this will not happen immediately. Look to Charlotte, NC for an example...

[hipsterdoofus]

I wouldn't be surprised if things are delayed a little. The work to get to the OK Tower Dock is a month or more behind schedule.

[mugofbeer]

Charlotte was lucky enough to have 2 of the biggest bank holding companies in the country move or build in the downtown. OKC desparetely needs more diversification and figure out a way to keep the businesses we have. Other than Oil & Gas, we've lost every major HQ we've had - and even a few O & G's.

[Luke]

I don't think Devon cared about the height of the other buildings downtown when considering how large their own should be. They probably figured out how much space they simply needed to continue to run their business.

[westsidesooner]

I am deployed to Afghanistan so time on the computer is limited. Haven't seen anything on the development of the new building. Have they canceled it???

Take care of yourself in Afghanistan. And thanks for your service.

Pete mentioned constuction starting October 1st. Devon has stuck with that date for awhile now, so Im sure it hasnt been delayed. But does starting construction mean first shovel or first road cone and GC trailer set-up?

Also I'm hoping that they will have a construction cam like they did for OSU's stadium renovations. Anyone know if thats a possibility?

[Pete]

I'm sure someone downtown will start a webcam if Devon doesn't.

And I believe that Oct. 1 date is for the parking garage expansion, which is the first phase. Still, it will be great to see things in motion.

[jbrown84]

Other than Oil & Gas, we've lost every major HQ we've had - and even a few O & G's.

Sonic
Hobby Lobby/Mardel
Midfirst Bank
American Fidelity
Love's
Advanced Academics
Express Personnel

[Steve]

Also:
- W.H. Braum's Ice Cream began in the state of Kansas in 1933, but is now headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK. Today, Braum's owns seven farms and ranches, totaling over 40,000 acres (62 square miles).
Others you might be less familiar with but are significant:
- Long Wave Incorporatedis a privately owned, HUBZone Certified, small business established in 1995. Specializing in military communications and XML-related technologies, Long Wave is located in Oklahoma City, OK with offices in Vienna, VA, Fort Worth, TX and San Diego, CA. and it currently provides services and has employees in 15 states.
- Tronox Incorporated is the world's third-largest producer and marketer of titanium dioxide, a preferred white pigment that whitens and opacifies paint, plastics, paper, ink and hundreds of everyday products. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, Tronox operates five titanium dioxide facilities in North America, Europe and Australia. They also produce electrolytic and specialty chemicals at facilities in the United States at Henderson, Nevada, Hamilton, Mississippi, and Soda Springs, Idaho. Tronox is going through bankruptcy right now, which many blame on Kerr-McGee and Anadarko Petroleum's merger and dumping of liabilities during the spin-off of Tronox. The matter is in court right now and could determine whether Tronox emerges as a strong company or faces demise.
All of the companies have regional or national operations.

The corporate headquarters lost over the past few years include Flemming Foods, which went bankrupt and pretty much ceased to exist after leaving OKC, and Kerr-McGee, which had a rapidly diminishing workforce when it was merged into Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum.

Is OKC in need of more corporate headquarters that aren't energy related? Probably. But Dan, you've got to careful when making broad statements like this, especially on OKC Talk. The fact squad will get you every time. Welcome to OKC Talk!

[Pete]

Chesapeake too!

And don't forget Sandridge actually relocated to OKC.


Advantage, fact squad!

[progressiveboy]

Also:
- W.H. Braum's Ice Cream began in the state of Kansas in 1933, but is now headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK. Today, Braum's owns seven farms and ranches, totaling over 40,000 acres (62 square miles).
Others you might be less familiar with but are significant:
- Long Wave Incorporatedis a privately owned, HUBZone Certified, small business established in 1995. Specializing in military communications and XML-related technologies, Long Wave is located in Oklahoma City, OK with offices in Vienna, VA, Fort Worth, TX and San Diego, CA. and it currently provides services and has employees in 15 states.
- Tronox Incorporated is the world's third-largest producer and marketer of titanium dioxide, a preferred white pigment that whitens and opacifies paint, plastics, paper, ink and hundreds of everyday products. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, Tronox operates five titanium dioxide facilities in North America, Europe and Australia. They also produce electrolytic and specialty chemicals at facilities in the United States at Henderson, Nevada, Hamilton, Mississippi, and Soda Springs, Idaho. Tronox is going through bankruptcy right now, which many blame on Kerr-McGee and Anadarko Petroleum's merger and dumping of liabilities during the spin-off of Tronox. The matter is in court right now and could determine whether Tronox emerges as a strong company or faces demise.
All of the companies have regional or national operations.

The corporate headquarters lost over the past few years include Flemming Foods, which went bankrupt and pretty much ceased to exist after leaving OKC, and Kerr-McGee, which had a rapidly diminishing workforce when it was merged into Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum.

Is OKC in need of more corporate headquarters that aren't energy related? Probably. But Dan, you've got to careful when making broad statements like this, especially on OKC Talk. The fact squad will get you every time. Welcome to OKC Talk!

Steve, I have to agree with Dan on this one. The key is diversification. One fact that needs to be pointed out that OKC has yet to attract a Fortune 500 company as it headquarters base, with maybe the exception of Sandridge Energy which I do not know if this is a Fortune 500 company. As far as your statement about OKC needing more corporate headquarters that aren't energy related? I have to say "absolutelyl" not "probably". OKC needs to have a cushion to rely on besides just the oil and gas industry. Did we really learn from the 80's?

[Steve]

Ok Progressive Boy, you're right: "absolutely."
And I don't think anyone is arguing about the need for more diversification. But to say this town has lost every major corporate hq that isn't oil or gas related is inaccurate.

[Platemaker]

One fact that needs to be pointed out that OKC has yet to attract a Fortune 500 company as it headquarters base, with maybe the exception of Sandridge Energy which I do not know if this is a Fortune 500 company.

Are you saying there are no Fortune 500 companies in OKC... which is incorrect... or that there are no Fortune 500 companies that have moved here?

Luckily, 'energy' itself is diversifying... either way energy is here to stay.

[jbrown84]

ProgressiveBoy, Fortune 500 companies rarely relocate. They are built from the ground up. See Chesapeake and Devon. Sonic has seen a lot of growth and so has Hobby Lobby. Midfirst now operates in Arizona in addition to Oklahoma, and I wouldn't be surprised if they started branching into more states and becoming a regional bank.

[progressiveboy]

Are you saying there are no Fortune 500 companies in OKC... which is incorrect... or that there are no Fortune 500 companies that have moved here?

Luckily, 'energy' itself is diversifying... either way energy is here to stay.

No. Devon, CKE and OG&E are based in OKC which are Fortune 500 companies. I agree energy is diversifying and the demand is there however the fluctuations in a commodity wrecks havoc and uncertainty if a city's economy is based on just one thing. The big question I am posing is what backup plan does OKC have if O&G plummeted so low? Again, I ask the question, did we learn from the 80's???

[progressiveboy]

ProgressiveBoy, Fortune 500 companies rarely relocate. They are built from the ground up. See Chesapeake and Devon. Sonic has seen a lot of growth and so has Hobby Lobby. Midfirst now operates in Arizona in addition to Oklahoma, and I wouldn't be surprised if they started branching into more states and becoming a regional bank.

I have to disagree on this one as well. Atlanta "just" landed NCR = "National Cash Register Company" which is a Fortune 500 company. The city was able to lure the company away from Ohio with state incentives and with Atlanta having a dynamic business enviornment. Dallas landed AT&T last year 2008 Comerica Bank relocated to Dallas from Detroit last year Exxon in 1990, JC Penney Co in 1982 and Kimberly Clark's corporate headquarters in 1985. Large corporations tend to migrate and gravitate towards cities that can "really" make things happen! They also tend to be more diversified that is why they can offer many things to many people. Why put your eggs all in one basket?

[Steve]

I like how this discussion is moving along, even though it's way off topic now. OKC voters passed a GOLT bond issue (I think it was $75 million) and the Devon tower tif will include $40 million to lure a hq company to downtown. So the question is this: should we be spending time and money on stealing a hq from another city, or should we try to throw money at a promising local company? Or is this a game we should be playing?
Yep, Pete, feel free to split this into a different thread...

[Midtowner]

Steve, it's a game everyone else is playing, and unless we want to lose out to other cities, we'll play too. Yes, it's something of an arms race, but I think an investment of say $40MM which, if successful, could lure a major corporate HQ here would pay off pretty quickly in terms of economic growth and tax revenue growth.

My problem with TIF financing is that it essentially takes money away which would otherwise go mostly to the schools (via ad valorem taxes) and puts it in other pockets, in this case, private pockets. If what we're doing is attracting a business which will locate in OKC, but most of its workers will be in Moore and Edmond, our schools are basically paying for this improvement by forgoing the revenue which should be going to them so that Edmond schools and Norman schools and Moore schools can expand their tax bases with the additional residential ad valorem taxes and retail growth generated by the TIF's success.

A good example of this sort of thing is the old GM plant. Until the lawsuit which declared your former boss' OIA to not have the power to promise tax exemption, what was going to happen was that the GM plant was going to be exempt from ad valorem taxes which would have gone to the Del City Public Schools. The A.G. and Del City Public Schools opposed that move and they won. Had they not won, G.M. would have stayed there, basically on Mid-Del's dime, with most of its work force in Edmond and Moore. About 20 years later, the G.M. plant closed. Had this been a TIF, the plant would have closed about the time the TIF bond was paid off. That's the danger I see here -- once the free money benefit is gone, will the corporation start looking for free money from elsewhere? And if they do and if they leave, our schools, who bear this burden will never realize the benefits they've essentially paid for.

It's a risky proposition all in all. Have these things been considered?

[okcpulse]

I agree to an extend, Midtowner, but G.M. is a poor exmaple to use in this argument's sake. We're talking about corporate headquarters, not a vehicle assembly plant, many of which are drying up in this country anyway. An act of congress for Oklahoma to keep GM running would not have kept the plant open. GM tanked, and everyone in this country is suffering.

Progressiveboy, the best OKC can do right now, is continue to create an environment that is friendly to Fortune 500 companies. It may be easier to do now that we have a professional basketball team and a quality of life that puts the 1990s to shame, not to mention a lower income tax rate than ten years ago.

Now that all of Hertz operations are here short of the HQ itself, the city should make a pitch. I heard a rumor that once the CEO retires, Hertz' HQ will relocate from NJ to OKC, but again, it's just a rumor.

Should OKC compete with cities like Atlanta and Dallas to attract Fortune 500 companies? You bet. But let's also support the companies we have here so that they can grow into major Fortune companies, and keep the Fortune companies we have.

[Oil Capital]

No. Devon, CKE and OG&E are based in OKC which are Fortune 500 companies. I agree energy is diversifying and the demand is there however the fluctuations in a commodity wrecks havoc and uncertainty if a city's economy is based on just one thing. The big question I am posing is what backup plan does OKC have if O&G plummeted so low? Again, I ask the question, did we learn from the 80's???

For the record, OG&E is not a Fortune 500 company. (They are No. 548 in the Fortune 1000)

[Luke]

I haven't done research on this, but I heard the Dell facility that the City helped attract with tax dollars several years ago basically screwed the City once their side of the deal was done. Something about bringing a certain amount of "high" dollar jobs to the metro...

Not real sure... does anyone know about this?

[Pete]

BTW, by far the most job growth is in the medium to small size companies.

Lots of cities prefer to provide incentives to these types of businesses as well as create an atmosphere conducive to start ups and innovation rather than trying to throw millions at big companies that tend to shrink rather than grow.

I'll take the dozens of medical and bio-tech firms at the OUHSC -- which tend to get little publicity -- over chasing dying companies like JC Penney any day.