BOK Park Plaza

[bchris02]

Drove by this today and the basement for the tower looks almost completely dug out. From the picture above it's now pretty much a rectangle.

Good to hear. Lets get this thing coming out of the ground!

[Pete]

That was the basement for the old Hotel Black.

They haven't even started working on the foundation for the tower and they will have to go much deeper than what is currently there.

However, they are moving fast on the northeast parking garage with pilings already being driven. That may go up very fast and serve as parking for the crew as they work on the tower and the other garage.

[Bellaboo]

Good to hear. Lets get this thing coming out of the ground!

I'd bet this will be coming out of the ground by January, unless the weather gets in the way.

[Pete]

This is the view from my back deck.

This building will start rising just to the right of Devon Tower and it will be cool to see the skyline extended from this angle, which I've always thought was the best, as all the taller buildings line up and you can see Leadership Square as well:

[bchris02]

499 Sheridan and the OG&E Tower will really change the skyline from that angle. I am looking forward to the towers rising out of the ground.

[SOONER8693]

499 Sheridan and the OG&E Tower will really change the skyline from that angle. I am looking forward to the towers rising out of the ground.

Amen to that.

[Fly on the Wall]

Anyone have any idea what they are doing along Main Street with what appears to be some concrete forms they are building literally right in the right lane of eastbound Main Street back towards and inside the property line? At first I saw them drilling two column piers in the street I thought maybe it would be where a large construction crane would be, but this is unlike what I saw them do with the Arts District Garage or when Devon was being built. Though, I do see power connections installed there, so that could be for a crane installment. Just seems to be a large platform for a crane, but if so and unlike what I've seen them do before.

A lot going on here that I'm not sure what to make of. Where 499 itself is supposed to be the grade is at two different levels and I thought they would have leveled that evenly. And in the south side of the picture they have the grade terraced and appear to be prepping a pier drilling operation there at the top of the terrace.

[Bellaboo]

I've seen precast walls built right on top of each other separated by plastic, but the forms and rebar in the street I've never seen anything like it being built in this manner. Will be interesting to watch.

[Pete]

Cannot figure out what that square box is in the middle of the right lane of Main Street:

[Jeepnokc]

Cannot figure out what that square box is in the middle of the right lane of Main Street:

Speculating but maybe the base of a crane?

[Pete]

^

That's probably right!

[ChrisHayes]

Base of a crane is my guess a swell. It's certainly big enough for a tower crane to sit on. I've been wondering when one will be erected on site.

[musg8411]

Main Street near the site is closed for the weekend, so likely moving crane on site.

[Urbanized]

Makes a lot of sense for that to be a base for a tower crane, but I can tell you that it is quite a bit different in configuration than the footings were for the tower cranes used to construct Devon Tower.

[Pete]

^

I think this is just for the NE parking garage, not the tower.

[Urbanized]

I understand that part. I meant tower crane as in the type of crane, not what it was building. Edited my previous post to reflect that more clearly.

[yukong]

Tower Crane is going up. And it is not on the street. It is inside the construction fence on the actual sight. We drove by there about 12:35 and they were placing the base unit.

[yukong]

[Urbanized]

That would be that depressed square of concrete just to the right of the middle on the bottom edge of the photo in Pete's post #1733. That makes much more sense based on what I have seen for tower crane footings. I don't think the boxes/platform extending into Main Street are for a tower crane. I'm intrigued, now. I have no idea what it could be for, and usually I can figure construction sites pretty easily. I might need to ride over there and put eyes on it.

[Urbanized]

After going through several posts I see where it was discussed previously in post #1731, and the photo in that post shows that the walls are heavily reinforced with rebar and very thick. The box structure extends into Main Street about 12'-15", and it tops out above grade, so if it were permanent the street would have to either be routed around it or the grade would have to slope up there to get over it. In looking at plans and renderings, I see nothing permanent in that location other than a drop-off/parking lane, and nothing at all remarkable.

It also extends inside the property line enough that if left there it would interfere with the line of the exterior wall and certainly would interfere with the erection of the walls during construction, and again I see nothing in the drawings that looks like the box is still there in the finished building. All of this is to say heck, I have absolutely no clue what that thing is.

[bradh]

base of an elevator shaft for the garage perhaps?

[Fly on the Wall]

The mystery box on the NE garage doesn't appear to be within the perimeter of the garage walls that they are forming below grade now, though it is right at the perimeter. And the blue tower crane, assuming that is what that is on the 499 location does appear to well below grade.

Still can't imagine what that concrete box is for other than a crane and they were wiring up the power boxes near that concrete box yesterday which are similar to the power connections they are making near the 499 tower crane location. Must be something special about the garage crane location that would necessitate that box...would love to know what the reason is.

[shawnw]

If it were remotely permanent, wouldn't we see it in this drawing?

[Bellaboo]

The Devon garages were not built with the 'T' cranes, They were built with those more portables cranes on tracks, if memory serves.

[yukong]

The Devon garages were not built with the 'T' cranes, They were built with those more portables cranes on tracks, if memory serves.

I believe that is correct also. With that said...the tower crane that I saw being constructed today (and the piece shown above is the base unit) is clearly for the building itself, not the garages.