OG&E Tower

[Bellaboo]

Well, I hate to say I was right but......

Attachment 4192


Just seems right for how this whole thing has unfolded.

We'll give you the gold star. lol

[MikeLucky]

Maybe it turns out to be a good move to announce a spec tower just to see how much real interest come forth from companies that might want to get space in the tower.... then you can design and build based on that... depending on demand, that could make this tower get pretty tall.

[Praedura]

Well, I hate to say I was right but......

Attachment 4192


Just seems right for how this whole thing has unfolded.

Except that we haven't got the official announcement yet. Just Steve's breaking news story.

[s00nr1]

Except that we haven't got the official announcement yet. Just Steve's breaking news story.

You honestly don't think Steve's story was an announcement? Surely he was embargoed in terms of a date he could release the story making it pretty much as close to an official announcement as you can get. Now we're being told it could be another 90 days before we find out anything concrete. All of this falls right in line with how we keep teasing ourselves without knowing any specific details of the tower itself.

[OklahomaNick]

Steve's comment from the NewsOK Chat this morning:

Steve Lackmeyer: Thanks Gary. No, it's not safe to assume the tower anchor will be associated with OG&E, Enogex or Centerpoint. It's possible. But as I've said before, there are a lot of missing pieces. Consider what I've told you before; in March a completely different developer was on the verge of getting this contract for the Stage Center property. It was not a reflection on that developer that the deal fell through. He had other tenants lined up, and it is still quite possible he may build a tower elsewhere downtown. In the meantime, let my article sink in - this tower is being built by Rainey Williams, not OG&E, not Enogex, not Centerpoint. Could any mix of these three end up as tenants? Maybe. But don't make any assumptions. As for those who question whether Rainey Williams is just a front, and question his capacity for doing this development, well, you don't know Rainey Williams.

[Praedura]

You honestly don't think Steve's story was an announcement? Surely he was embargoed in terms of a date he could release the story making it pretty much as close to an official announcement as you can get. Now we're being told it could be another 90 days before we find out anything concrete. All of this falls right in line with how we keep teasing ourselves without knowing any specific details of the tower itself.

No, we have not gotten the official announcement. That could be today, or maybe not til Monday or Tuesday.

Now it may be that the actual announcement contains no more info than was revealed in the NewsOK article. But we don't know yet.

[OklahomaNick]

Steve confirming speculation on Mystery Tower #2

Steve Lackmeyer: When all of the questions about the Stage Center site are answered, we will still have a "mystery tower" to discuss. I have very good sources who tell me yet another deal on a different site in the works. Williams knows this. Other players do too. And they're not worried.

[Dustin]

Steves chat is going on now:

Oklahoma Business News, Technology, Energy & Real Estate OKC | NewsOK

[OKCPhotog]

Personally I'm not from OKC and the few years I've been here Stage Center has just been an eyesore to me that doesn't make sense. I'll be glad to see it go and someone finally use the property to its full potential!!

[Praedura]

This thread has certainly taken off like a rocket. It's not even 24 hours old, and already over 5000 views.

[warreng88]

Interesting comment on the Stage Center tower on Steve's chat:

It's not a 20-story building anymore than Devon Energy Center ended up being a 34-story building. Remember, part of this process is not setting expectations too high. Under promise, over deliver, and you have a happy audience. Also, my sources tell me this building will have a much wider mass....

Devon has a pretty big floorplate as it is at around 25,000 sq ft and that whole complex takes up about two city blocks, but that is including the parking garage, auditorium, rotunda and podium. I expect this to be more of just a tower with first floor retail aspects and a parking garage.

[G.Walker]

Steve mentioned that several tenants were interested, so this could very well end up being taller than 20 stories, even if it only increased by 10 stories to 30, it would put it at about the same height as Chase Tower, I will take that, better than nothing, just trying to look at the bright side. The sun has to shine on a dog's ass someday right?

[Platemaker]

From the chat... such a tease:

Steve Lackmeyer:
Here's something that will really drive you guys crazy.... I'm starting to see hints that there maybe a mystery tower 3 in the works.....

[metro]

Anyone can speak in generalities, we've all seen enough evidence to support the likelihood of 3 towers.

[ourulz2000]

Steve Lackmeyer:
Here's something that will really drive you guys crazy.... I'm starting to see hints that there maybe a mystery tower 3 in the works.....

Is this possible: 3 Towers starting construction in next 3 years?

[dcsooner]

You honestly don't think Steve's story was an announcement? Surely he was embargoed in terms of a date he could release the story making it pretty much as close to an official announcement as you can get. Now we're being told it could be another 90 days before we find out anything concrete. All of this falls right in line with how we keep teasing ourselves without knowing any specific details of the tower itself.

+1

[OKCTalker]

Ray 11:02 a.m. Will there be an official announcement on the tower today or next week?
Steve Lackmeyer 11:02 a.m. Did you not ready my story today? it's official now.

C'mon people. Is English that difficult to read and understand?

[Bellaboo]

In March of 2008, Devon had a release that said they were building a new tower. That was the official announcement. They gave little details. Then in August, we saw the first renderings with more specific details. I'd say this is as official as a spec tower can be.

[coov23]

From the chat... such a tease:

Steve Lackmeyer:
Here's something that will really drive you guys crazy.... I'm starting to see hints that there maybe a mystery tower 3 in the works.....

OKC is on the verge of a population boom. Bigger than what's going on right now. Think about it. 3 new corporate towers. That's going to lead to the mid and high rise residential towers. That means OKC will be better equipped to serve and house the young college grads. That leads to more jobs and more businesses growing/ setting up shop in OKC. This is exciting times right now!

[traxx]

Oh, there you are, Perry.

I laughed.

[OKCTalker]

Rainey Williams isn't holding a big media event for this because that isn't his style. Perhaps Williams or the Community Foundation will issue a press release confirming the sale, but that's about it until details for the building and its anchor tenant(s) are known and ready to announce.

[Praedura]

Thread created for this project at skyscrapercity:

OKLAHOMA CITY | Stage Center Tower | 20+ fl | Pro - SkyscraperCity

[zookeeper]

I don't think the resistance is as big as everyone is making it out to be. Most OKCitians refer to Downtown as Bricktown and don't even know a tower is being built. Most don't care or even aware of the architectural significance of SC. A very small, vocal group with no money will object and be seen as obstructionists and the local media as always will barely cover the protractors. Our city has proven time after time throughout the decades we don't care about demolishing historic structures (Sandridge ala India Temple and KerrMac come to mind as well as Film Exchange). 98-99% of OKCitians are probably intellectually lazy and just don't care but the 1-2% who are informed and active are on this message board. Just an observation, not necessarily my full opinion.

You have a valid point about the lack of civic interest, but I'll repeat what I wrote earlier....

I think we all underestimate the loss of Stage Center. I know my heart will be low in the stomach when I see the first pieces fall to the ground. Seeing that structure in a giant heap will make many of us wince at tearing down something that is very unique to our city and to the architectural world. One day there will be people looking at pictures of Stage Center and asking what we were possibly thinking. Sounds all too familiar. It's just a shame something couldn't have been worked out. Onward and upward, but it's with mixed emotions.

[BoulderSooner]

You have a valid point about the lack of civic interest, but I'll repeat what I wrote earlier....

I think we all underestimate the loss of Stage Center. I know my heart will be low in the stomach when I see the first pieces fall to the ground. Seeing that structure in a giant heap will make many of us wince at tearing down something that is very unique to our city and to the architectural world. One day there will be people looking at pictures of Stage Center and asking what we were possibly thinking. Sounds all too familiar. It's just a shame something couldn't have been worked out. Onward and upward, but it's with mixed emotions.

you massively overestimate how much the average person cares about the stage center

also a good number of people very interested in downtown think it is an eye sore and can't wait for it to be gone ..

[zookeeper]

you massively overestimate how much the average person cares about the stage center

also a good number of people very interested in downtown think it is an eye sore and can't wait for it to be gone ..

And the entire point of my post was that you (and others) massively underestimate what Stage Center means to a lot of people in Oklahoma City.

And your "good number" downtown also thought, in their day, that the Pei Plan was wonderful.