New Greater OKC Chamber of Commerce building status?

[G.Walker]

www.okcchamber.com/newbuilding/newBuilding2.swf

[G.Walker]

Does anyone know what happened this project?

[Steve]

On hold.

[Architect2010]

Where at? I'll make sure it doesn't come back to life. ;P

[Spartan]

LOL. Well the chamber has called off fundraising due to the economy. I think that the credibility of the chamber ensures it will be back on at some point, but they are waiting until their member companies are ready for the fundraising push.

[jbrown84]

Here's hoping they come to their senses and trash this design.

[OKC@heart]

I for one would love it if they instead realized that while their fundraising is on hold, the time could be well spent in re thinking it and considering what opportunities exisit in making the building part of one of their initiatives and house several functions, Street Front Retail Store fronts wraping internal structured parking perserving the site area, while the podium of the building including some residential components (maybe live/work town homes & Rental) as well as separated Office space that could be leased to start up companies acting as a business incubator right there under the Chamber, and then have the chamber as a tower element that could project from the base as a sole element giving them their own identity and adding height to the building. Granted this would be a wish and would take much more financing and would require building partnerships in this joint venture to make sucessful, but wait isn't that something that the chamber should be pretty good at doing? Putting the right people together to make things happen? It could be a model for what the city is trying to foster. Live work and play all possible in the same areas. And the revitalization of a site that was a non-contributor previously now infusing that intersection with vitality and foot traffic. Just me dreamin' of what it could be like if the Chamber could participate in the re-emergence of the density in OKC with their building.

[mugofbeer]

While I have no problem if the COC wants to build a new building, does it strike anyone else that the buildings in the link is very dull and 1970's?

[stlokc]

OKC@heart- Love your ideas. The Chamber ought to be on the forefront of what is possible for Downtown OKC. But I'm not holding my breath.

[krisb]

I wonder if the DDR vote on the SandRidge proposal will have any sway in the design of the Chamber headquarters.

[Spartan]

I for one would love it if they instead realized that while their fundraising is on hold, the time could be well spent in re thinking it and considering what opportunities exisit in making the building part of one of their initiatives and house several functions, Street Front Retail Store fronts wraping internal structured parking perserving the site area, while the podium of the building including some residential components (maybe live/work town homes & Rental) as well as separated Office space that could be leased to start up companies acting as a business incubator right there under the Chamber, and then have the chamber as a tower element that could project from the base as a sole element giving them their own identity and adding height to the building. Granted this would be a wish and would take much more financing and would require building partnerships in this joint venture to make sucessful, but wait isn't that something that the chamber should be pretty good at doing? Putting the right people together to make things happen? It could be a model for what the city is trying to foster. Live work and play all possible in the same areas. And the revitalization of a site that was a non-contributor previously now infusing that intersection with vitality and foot traffic. Just me dreamin' of what it could be like if the Chamber could participate in the re-emergence of the density in OKC with their building.

This is a great idea. There actually was a mixed-use alternative that they analyzed but the problem is with the city engineers who are insistent on refusing the idea of changing the EK Gaylord/Broadway/Kerr/4th Street weird merging area that's VERY VERY un-conducive to walkability in the first place. By not letting the Chamber propose some changes to the intersection, like straightening EKG and dead-ending it at 4th in front of the new YMCA--which would have made the whole area infinitely more walkable--the city is really the one that you MUST point the finger at for this design. The Chamber went with a site that rejects the street relationship because they don't want people getting ran over by cars on the ridiculous anti-pedestrian artery that shouldn't exist in the first place.