Devon Energy Center

[Kerry]

I am happy for anything over 5 stories in the urban core. Height is nice but I prefer street level density. Give me Westminster, UK over Midtown Manhattan anytime. I would have rather seen 8 100' building out of Devon then one 800' tower.

[swilki]

I know it's monday morning and I haven't had my coffee yet.......but there is definitely something wrong with this picture. Thank you to my browser for giving me a reality check this morning.




p.s. why do people have to be so ungrateful regarding the gifts (aka Devon Tower, the TIF Funding, etc.) that Devon is giving OKC? Let's be thankful they decided to stay here and invest in the city.

[metro]

Just look who the poster was and that explains it all.........

[therondo]

View the other topic. :-)

I have been viewing thqat tread since it's beginning, and all I have seen is speculation and no concrete evidence of anything.

[soonerwilliam]

Remember the tallest building in Dallas is 921ft., that's only 71ft. taller than ours. I'm disapointed it didn't end up being 925ft., but I'm really proud of the of the height it's going to be. It will be the 31st tallest in the U.S. when finished! Going to look great in the skyline! Hopefully more new buildings are coming in the future (convention hotel, etc.)

The Devon Tower will be the same height as the GE Building in NYC and the Chase Tower in Chicago. (I'm impressed!)

[OKCisOK4me]

I love quoting myself too!

[kinggober]

6.7.10
3rd Floor


7.6.10
5th Floor


8.4.10
8th Floor


9.7.10
11th Floor


10.4.10
14th Floor

[Dustin]

Can't wait til' it's taller than the Chase Tower!!!

[madfcstr]

For those interested, you can see a 30, 60, 120, 180, 300 frame time lapse of the tower cam. These images are also archived via the "menu" option in the upper left corner.

[HOT ROD]

The Devon Tower will be the same height as the GE Building in NYC and the Chase Tower in Chicago. (I'm impressed!)

Not only that, but Devon will be more impressive than either of those buildings, Im sure most people might think. ...

But I do see Thunder's point to a bit - maybe embarrassing was the wrong word, but 'somewhat' dissappointing due to the reduction might be a better way to put it. I wanted another city in america to get a supertall and AM really hoping OKC can join that exclusive club. It doesn't even need to be 1000', just 300 metres is good enough (which is slightly lower than 1000'). If we had a supertall, we would be in the club of cities as Chicago, New York, LA, Houston, and Atlanta; that is why I have a little bit of dissappointment - and since this tower is so beautiful and iconic, I think it deservedly so needs that supertall status. ....

But I am very happy for Oklahoma City and think the 850 foot tower will be impressive and hopefully lead to more (ala Charlotte). I am one of the speculators who is holding out hope that Devon will add 8-10 floors to the tower and make it 300 metres to the fins. ....

[Thunder]

Did Devon pay all the constructions, or at least most of it, already or are they going to wait until later when the costs may go up? I find it conflicting while the cost of constructions went way down for Devon to not really take full advantage of it. They relocated the data centers out of this tower, fine, but was it really necessary to subtract floors? No. Those floors could have been put to use for other things.

How tall must a tower be to qualify as a super-tall structure?

I know it is still possible to add more floors before the final top floors is touched. Is there any way to get inside sources/access to latest changes to the construction layout/plan?

OKC should really try to compete with Dubai.

Also, it would be nice if Devon really want to give back to the community is by building another tower at least 1,000' for residential living and to not charge insane amount of rent. Devon can afford it and they can afford leasing out units for reasonable prices that will actually compare with other regular apartments around the metro.

What will Devon plan to use for their current mini tower?

[okcpulse]

Thunder, despite the scope of the project, building a tower is still a business-based decision based on Devon's needs. Height is never the single cornerstone of any office building development. Height is the end result of the needs of the company (or developer who builds multi-tenant office towers). One of Devon's strengths is that they do not overshoot their goals. That keeps them prudent and stable.

Devon could have forgone the garden wing and shoved all of that square footage into the tower, but they didn't just want a tower. They are building a quality environment for their employees that will be enjoyed by both the company and the city. The tower itself is indeed an icon, as was intended by Larry Nichols. However, the rotunda, the podium, garden wing and auditorium are all pieces of the puzzle for a quality environment. It is being done this way so that attracting a highly talented workforce for Devon is easy. That in turn is good for both Devon and Oklahoma City, and that can't be argued.

Devon's original estimate for the tower was 37 floors. 50 floors is a decent increase from their original estimate. Based on how many people they plan to hire in the future combined with the square footage needed to accomodate X number of employees, 50 floors was the end result. The engineering decision to spread the floor heights more than normal for very specific purposes yielded 850 feet.

Companies and architects do not determine the height of the tower from the start to satisfy a lofty goal unless you are a risky real estate developer with deep pockets, but even then prudent business decisions must still be made. Companies go with what makes the most economic sense. In the long run, Devon's new tower will shape the skyline in ways we can't imagine. There is only so much you can see on paper or computer screen. It isn't disporportionate, and opens doors for another tower to be built (again, based on demand) that may or may not fill in the gap between the Chase Tower and Devon.

BTW, Devon is searching for a new tenant for the current 19-floor Mid America Tower they occupy so that a hole isn't punched in downtown Oklahoma City's office space occupancy rate. Companies don't do that every day.

[ndmoore]

Did Devon pay all the constructions, or at least most of it, already or are they going to wait until later when the costs may go up? I find it conflicting while the cost of constructions went way down for Devon to not really take full advantage of it. They relocated the data centers out of this tower, fine, but was it really necessary to subtract floors? No. Those floors could have been put to use for other things.

I think Devon will be doing the smart thing on this. They didn't get this far by being taken advantage of.

How tall must a tower be to qualify as a super-tall structure?

TALL

I know it is still possible to add more floors before the final top floors is touched. Is there any way to get inside sources/access to latest changes to the construction layout/plan?

There are NO PLANS to change the building height to higher than 850'. Be happy it is being built! Devon would've announced this if they were to change it. Approvals would have to have been made through the city and it would've eventually leaked by now. So don't get your hopes up!

OKC should really try to compete with Dubai.

REALLY!?!?!

Also, it would be nice if Devon really want to give back to the community is by building another tower at least 1,000' for residential living and to not charge insane amount of rent. Devon can afford it and they can afford leasing out units for reasonable prices that will actually compare with other regular apartments around the metro.

Is this a joke? Devon is not in the Hotel/Apartment business. Giving to the community is not all about building towers.

Devon bought the Colcord to be a good neighbor, and will be selling it back to the original owners when the building is complete. This was announced when the transaction took place.

What will Devon plan to use for their current mini tower?

Read other post and look online at newsok.com, there are articles about this.

Do some research! Its called Google/Bing or whatever you use/Don't Use!

[ndmoore]

BTW...Forms are being placed on the SE side for the 15th Floor.

[metro]

Yes Thunder, please use Google. Dubai? Seriously? You do realize they are building buildings 2,000-3,000 ft tall don't you? That is insane compared to even places like New York and Tokyo, etc. They are even working on a building a MILE high. No one can compete with Dubai's monsterous towers and it doesn't make sense to either.

[Kerry]

Yes Thunder, please use Google. Dubai? Seriously? You do realize they are building buildings 2,000-3,000 ft tall don't you? That is insane compared to even places like New York and Tokyo, etc. They are even working on a building a MILE high. No one can compete with Dubai's monsterous towers and it doesn't make sense to either.

Dubai currently has 48 buildings that were stopped mid-construction. I'll bet there are more cranes working in downtown OKC today than there are in Dubai.

[Richard at Remax]

I'll bet there are more cranes working in downtown OKC today than there are in Dubai.

Taken last Monday. All still moving forward.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...&postcount=810

Yeah we got them beat all right

[Kerry]

Taken last Monday. All still moving forward.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...&postcount=810

Yeah we got them beat all right

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think all those cranes are in the stored position. If you look close you can see the area where items would be attached for lifting are all the way up (i.e. nothing is being lifted).

[Richard at Remax]

According to SSP, 19 are still U/C, 4 are on-hold, 6 are stale proposals, and 3 are still proposed.

I was just saying that to say OKC has more cranes in operation in Dubai is silly, even though it appears that thier constuction boom is winding down.

[Architect2010]

Why would we want to beat Dubai? That city is a wasteful scar on the planet's face, built out of fantasy and dreams, not real-world economics. They can keep their mile high towers because they'll all be below sea level in a century.

[therondo]

While we are all living in reality, Thunder is living in some sort of pipe dream. The reality is that Devon is financially responsible, therefore although they are building a new corporate headquarters, they are doing it responsibly without all the extra hoopla. This was never a race to beat other cities, in my opinion, they are showing that they are committed to the future of OKC. This is a reinvestment in their hometown, not a competition with Dallas or Dubai. We can all wish the building was taller or speculate that there is some hidden agenda, but in reality, Devon is making sound business decisions so that they can continue to strive in the future.

[OKCisOK4me]

First plate of glass going in on the north face of the building - floor 6!

[mburlison]

The obvious answer to all of our problems is that Thunder go to work for Devon to help w/ these searing dilemmas.

[OKC@heart]

First plate of glass going in on the north face of the building - floor 6!

Yup they have made quite a bit of progress this afternoon on that and have it almost completed on that face!

I have been wondering if there was going to be any access from the tower onto this level, for use as kind of a rooftop garden area. I haven't seen the plans at this level to know, but if I had been the architect I would have wanted to, because it creates its own unique kind of space with the Atrium that will frame the space on the NW side. It could have been a cool outdoor space! A place for employees to get out and eat a quick lunch & get some fresh air...of course they will have the entire myriad gardens to do that in also so probably not needed.

[OKCisOK4me]

I'd think that that would be at least taken into consideration since this building is suppose to be LEED certified. A roof garden or at least just green grass would totally cut down on electricity bills...