SandRidge Center & Commons

[dcsooner]

Wow! that's alot for any corporation to try to salvage. May need additonal private investment to make a huge impact to that large an area

[lasomeday]

If you can put aside the terrible PR gaffes early in their downtown campaign, they are doing a fantastic amount for OKC and that entire quadrant of downtown.

I just put this together to remind people the state of that area before Sandridge started investing. Walking those streets just two years ago I could have sworn I was in some sort of post-apocalyptic soviet block city... Nothing but dead, concrete everywhere I turned.

Although some of these properties are still lifeless, many are coming back or soon will be:

The Tower was not empty. It had some office space leased. Also there were offers on the table for the buildings they knocked down. You have to take things in perspective, not twist it to one side.

[mcca7596]

The Tower was not empty. It had some office space leased. Also there were offers on the table for the buildings they knocked down. You have to take things in perspective, not twist it to one side.

I knew there were some prospective buyers for the Kermac and India Temple to possibly turn into housing back in 05/06, but I didn't know there were any interested buyers after Sandridge acquired them. That sucks.

[UnFrSaKn]

[ljbab728]

It's amazing how many small hotels used to be scattered around downtown many years ago. "Dennis Hotel"

[HOT ROD]

For some reason, I ABSOLUTEL LOVE THIS PICTURE!!

[Pete]

The Tower was not empty. It had some office space leased.

The tower and the entire former McGee campus was empty when Sandridge made their purchase:

Byline: Steve Lackmeyer

Jul. 6, 2007--One year after Kerr-McGee Corp. was acquired by Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum, its downtown Oklahoma City campus is empty, its fate still unknown.

[Bellaboo]

The tower and the entire former McGee campus was empty when Sandridge made their purchase:

Tronix had been spun off and was in Leadership Square at this point.

[lasomeday]

I thought Tronox was still leasing until 2009. I forgot they moved into Leadership Square in 2007.

[lasomeday]

Which buildings are coming back? I am down there every day and it is pretty dead and isolated due to construction.

[Pete]

• The Tower is almost completely renovated at a cost of almost $500K per floor plus a fantastic new lobby. It's filling rapidly.
• Plaza in front of tower completely demolished and extensive landscaping and large metal canopy should be complete very soon.
• The Braniff building is under renovation, will house a bunch of SR employees and have retail/restaurants on the ground floor.
• The Dowell Center is under renovation with plans to start leasing next year.
• Old Globe Life building is being demolished and will be replaced by super-modern SR amenities building (restaurants, terraces, auditorium, day care, athletic club, meeting rooms).
• Kerr Park will be completely renovated by SR and Chesapeake.
• New tower to replace old KM parking garage along Broadway.
• Sandridge to replace several surface lots with parking structures with retail on ground floor.
• Old library planning to be converted to apartments after condo project stalled.

All of these are either under way or planned to follow the work currently in progress.

[Steve]

Pete is correct - the tower was empty when SandRidge bought it (I know because I "visited" all three buildings with Jack just before the deal closed). I would also add that in hindsight, one must wonder if the SandRidge Commons project would have drawn as much criticism as it did if the company had not been so heavy-handed and aloof in its public response. The company, for example, never clearly communicated how short-term the plaza area is where the India Temple building stood. If they had said then, as they've said since, that they plan to build a "significant" new office building in place of it and the remaining parking structure facing Broadway, I'd bet the urbanist crowd might have split with the preservationists in fighting over the removal over the India Temple Building. Keep in mind also that the urbanists were never enthused about the old YMCA building (mid-block attached to the Capitol Savings & Loan or Kermac Building) and supported removal of the 120 Robert S. Kerr building to make way for a new amenities building. That would have left the urbanists' only concern being the Capitol S&L/Kermac Building and the creation of a pretty gap in the street wall along Robinson.
That, either way, is all history. What's happening now is nothing short of SandRidge seeming to stick to its original plans and doing a much better job of communicating with the community. Also note, some of the key decision making executives during the public relations fiasco are no longer with the company. Ironically, one of those executives completely blew off a suggestion I made long before the controversy arose that they employ a local public relations firm to help them in communicating with the media and the community (there were already hints that communication was not as good as it could be). This was before the company moved downtown, but after it bought the tower. They have, in the past year, hired one of the five public relations firms I suggested way back when....

[UnFrSaKn]

Video still from 1-23. Not sure what to think of this...

[ABryant]

Looks to me like a repair, and not a cover up of the decorative elements.

[Just the facts]

Pete is correct - the tower was empty when SandRidge bought it (I know because I "visited" all three buildings with Jack just before the deal closed). I would also add that in hindsight, one must wonder if the SandRidge Commons project would have drawn as much criticism as it did if the company had not been so heavy-handed and aloof in its public response. The company, for example, never clearly communicated how short-term the plaza area is where the India Temple building stood. If they had said then, as they've said since, that they plan to build a "significant" new office building in place of it and the remaining parking structure facing Broadway, I'd bet the urbanist crowd might have split with the preservationists in fighting over the removal over the India Temple Building. Keep in mind also that the urbanists were never enthused about the old YMCA building (mid-block attached to the Capitol Savings & Loan or Kermac Building) and supported removal of the 120 Robert S. Kerr building to make way for a new amenities building. That would have left the urbanists' only concern being the Capitol S&L/Kermac Building and the creation of a pretty gap in the street wall along Robinson.

I think that is a pretty fair assessment and it is what I expect to see happen on the Stage Center and Preftake's block. You only have to learn some lessons once.

[Pete]

Really looking forward to your video Will!

Looking closer at that photo, there is a tremendous about of damage to all the detail work. I sure hope they can fix most of it:

[UnFrSaKn]

I didn't know that the Braniff Building was a Layton, Hicks and Forsythe structure.

http://www.keepdowntownurban.com/?page_id=26

[UnFrSaKn]

OKHistory.com article -

http://www.okchistory.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55:th e-braniff-building&catid=38laces&Itemid=77

Never read this one either.

http://newsok.com/article/3576921

[Urbanized]

Really looking forward to your video Will!

Looking closer at that photo, there is a tremendous about of damage to all the detail work. I sure hope they can fix most of it:

They can, no problem. There are several examples of that type of repair on historic buildings in OKC already; the old Oklahoman building (now YMCA HQ) had beautiful decorative plaster moldings that had been damaged prior to remodel, as did the Skirvin. Since they are repeating patterns, it's really pretty easy. Modern techniques allow them to make molds based on the undamaged portions nearby and then cast repair pieces from those molds. Often they use a lightweight polystyrene material that is visually indistinguishable from the original once finished.

A similar-type process was also used in the Skirvin remodel on the OUTSIDE of the building. Much of the beautiful ribbon and reed detail on the front had been busted off to install modern canopies or other alterations over the years, and when they took it back to original they had to duplicate the beautiful old cast stone work. I defy anyone today to look at it and point out what is original and what is replacement. I know I couldn't, and I actually watched the work as it was being done.

[Just the facts]

They can, no problem. There are several examples of that type of repair on historic buildings in OKC already; the old Oklahoman building (now YMCA HQ) had beautiful decorative plaster moldings that had been damaged prior to remodel, as did the Skirvin. Since they are repeating patterns, it's really pretty easy. Modern techniques allow them to make molds based on the undamaged portions nearby and then cast repair pieces from those molds. Often they use a lightweight polystyrene material that is visually indistinguishable from the original once finished.

A similar-type process was also used in the Skirvin remodel on the OUTSIDE of the building. Much of the beautiful ribbon and reed detail on the front had been busted off to install modern canopies or other alterations over the years, and when they took it back to original they had to duplicate the beautiful old cast stone work. I defy anyone today to look at it and point out what is original and what is replacement. I know I couldn't, and I actually watched the work as it was being done.

It is so easy to do it actually infuriates me that modern building like Devon Tower don't do it. It seems all we get now days is 800 vertical feet of glass and people ooh and aah over it. It sucks. People on here complain how OKC settles for less from our developers than other cities they are familiar with but we still get 400 pages of comments raving about glass. Big deal. In 30 years will we look at Devon Tower the way we look at Liberty or the way we look at FNC? My guess is that we will look at it more like Liberty - a tall building made of glass and not how we see FNC or City Place - classic architectural masterpieces that can stand the test of time.

[Pete]

Thanks Urbanized. I've seen those methods used before in documentaries about old buildings.

Looks like Sandridge is dedicated to spending the money to do these repairs. And in their renderings it shows replacing some of the original stone detailing on the exterior, too.

[UnFrSaKn]

Thanks for the info on that process. It's fascinating. I always wondered how they made those kinds of repairs, like the Skirvin. I also wondered about that on the renderings. Some things just can't stay original. It just isn't realistic.

[metro]

OK, so I went downtown today to get the Devon/Sandridge up close shots. I was able to get on the INSIDE of the Sandridge compound. Will post the pics soon!!

[Rover]

It is so easy to do it actually infuriates me that modern building like Devon Tower don't do it. It seems all we get now days is 800 vertical feet of glass and people ooh and aah over it. It sucks. People on here complain how OKC settles for less from our developers than other cities they are familiar with but we still get 400 pages of comments raving about glass. Big deal. In 30 years will we look at Devon Tower the way we look at Liberty or the way we look at FNC? My guess is that we will look at it more like Liberty - a tall building made of glass and not how we see FNC or City Place - classic architectural masterpieces that can stand the test of time.

LOL. You just need to move to Europe and be done with it. You would love Paris, Brussels, and old London. You and Prince Charles should get along great.

I seriously doubt anyone will confuse the quality of the architecture in Devon Center for that of the Chase Tower, even in 30 years.

[dankrutka]

It is so easy to do it actually infuriates me that modern building like Devon Tower don't do it. It seems all we get now days is 800 vertical feet of glass and people ooh and aah over it. It sucks. People on here complain how OKC settles for less from our developers than other cities they are familiar with but we still get 400 pages of comments raving about glass. Big deal. In 30 years will we look at Devon Tower the way we look at Liberty or the way we look at FNC? My guess is that we will look at it more like Liberty - a tall building made of glass and not how we see FNC or City Place - classic architectural masterpieces that can stand the test of time.

Uh. This post was lame.