OG&E Tower

[G.Walker]

If that's the case, it won't be reviewed until January, however plans have to be submitted a month in advance, so we still should get more details on or before 12/20.

[Pete]

Yes, typically you have to submit an app about 3 weeks before the meeting in order for it to be considered.

However, they may wait until they release the full plans and renderings of the tower before filing, just to off-set any bad will.

[G.Walker]

I suspect if we don't see anything by 12/20, we are looking at mid January for full plans to be released. If that happens, lets hope Rainey Williams will be open to do another interview giving an update with more details on height, architect, and cost before then.

[lasomeday]

The Energy Talk on NewsOK confirmed what I have been hearing from my source.

Jezebel - 10:34 a.m. Do you think Enable Midsteram will be a major tenant of the new tower that's to be built downtown at the Stage Center site, or will build its own tower?
Jay F. Marks -10:34 a.m. From what I've been told, no.
Jay F. Marks -10:35 a.m. Enable, which includes the assets for OGE Energy Corp. subsidiary Enogex, has a long-term lease at Leadership Square.
Jay F. Marks -10:35 a.m. Plus I haven't heard anything about the company bringing a lot of new jobs to Oklahoma City, so it doesn't seem like it needs new office space.

GE center to boost oil industry, Oklahoma City | News OK

[Pete]

I don't believe they have a long-term lease at Leadership Square...

I think it's just five years (which started over a year ago) with some options after that.

It's rare for a company to commit to more than five years on the initial term.

[lasomeday]

I don't believe they have a long-term lease at Leadership Square...

I think it's just five years (which started over a year ago) with some options after that.

It's rare for a company to commit to more than five years on the initial term.

Yeah, 5 years is nothing.... when you are talking a 40 story skyscraper being built. That 4 years would be perfect timing to then move into a new tower.......They could do a month to month as a contingency plan if it wasn't finished by then.

[Pete]

Also, keep in mind that office space demand is high and Enogex spent good money building out that LS space.

It's not like they would have a hard time leasing it out if Enable/Enogex was to leave a bit early.


The biggest reason they wouldn't move would be the money spent to improve their present space, but even then we don't know how much of that was paid for by Leadership Square. On bigger office deals, it's not unusual for the landlord to provide a generous build-out allowance or at least provide offsets in rent.

Also, the other shoe has not fallen in terms of the new Enable entity. It doesn't seem like a lot of new jobs are coming to OKC in the short-term but I'm hearing there will be in the mid-term; like in the next few years.


I had heard all the way along that OG&E and/or Enogex were heavily involved with this deal for the Stage Center and with OG&E looking more and more like they will be building their own tower and Raney Williams having served on the Enogex board, I think there are far too many coincidences and overlaps to dismiss the idea of Enable moving into this new tower.


We should know a lot more in the next month.

[Spartan]

So, when December passes without an announcement, do we have a total meltdown, or do people get excited for the next made-up announcement deadline?

[OKCisOK4me]

So, when December passes without an announcement, do we have a total meltdown, or do people get excited for the next made-up announcement deadline?

That's why I think Valentine's Day would be a great day for an announcement!

[Praedura]

So, when December passes without an announcement, do we have a total meltdown, or do people get excited for the next made-up announcement deadline?

All of the above.

I kind of have a little meltdown every day that I log on and no new info on the tower has been released yet. But then I just put myself back together again. I've become quite adept at reconstituting myself from liquid form back into solid form.

[Praedura]

On another thread, this proposed tower for Nashville was touted as a good fit for the Stage Center site.



I agree.

[Pete]

Remember before the Stage Center was even sold and I said I had heard from very good sources it was OG&E?

Well, looks like that was correct all along. I've been told by another great source that the main tenant will in fact be OG&E -- not Enable/Enogex -- and they have been working closely with Raney Williams to make this happen.


As has been discussed, OG&E had hired a consultant to help them find a downtown location for a new HQ tower. This started at least a couple of years ago, before the Stage Center site went up for sale.

When we all found out Raney Williams was the actual purchaser, I then assumed he was working with OG&E and/or Enable/Enogex since since he had served on the Enogex board. It seemed to make sense that OG&E would not want to take too big a profile in the demolition of the iconic Stage Center building, and had to be careful with it's image in general since it's a public utility company. This appears to be the case, but the parties involved have been very careful about saying so -- for obvious reasons.

I do not know how big the building may be but with OG&E as a tenant, you would think it would be substantial. Plus, there is still likely to be some spec space for lease.

As far as Enable/Enogex, they can stay put for a while and probably won't want to be in the same building as OG&E anyway, since they need to operate independently and not give any appearance to the contrary.


And as for the activity at the NW corner of Hudson & Robert S Kerr, that is likely one of the parties that was initially interested in the Stage Center site but lost out to the Raney Williams proposal. Doesn't look like OG&E will be going there at all.


I think we are getting very close to an official announcement about all this with Stage Center, but wanted to share what I've been hearing.

[bchris02]

Remember before the Stage Center was even sold and I said I had heard from very good sources it was OG&E?

Well, looks like that was correct all along. I've been told by another great source that the main tenant will in fact be OG&E -- not Enable/Enogex -- and they have been working closely with Raney Williams to make this happen.


As has been discussed, OG&E had hired a consultant to help them find a downtown location for a new HQ tower. This started at least a couple of years ago, before the Stage Center site went up for sale.

When we all found out Raney Williams was the actual purchaser, I then assumed he was working with OG&E and/or Enable/Enogex since since he had served on the Enogex board. It seemed to make sense that OG&E would not want to take too big a profile in the demolition of the iconic Stage Center building, and had to be careful with it's image in general since it's a public utility company. This appears to be the case, but the parties involved have been very careful about saying so -- for obvious reasons.

I do not know how big the building may be but with OG&E as a tenant, you would think it would be substantial. Plus, there is still likely to be some spec space for lease.

As far as Enable/Enogex, they can stay put for a while and probably won't want to be in the same building as OG&E anyway, since they need to operate independently and not give any appearance to the contrary.


And as for the activity at the NW corner of Hudson & Robert S Kerr, that is likely one of the parties that was initially interested in the Stage Center site but lost out to the Raney Williams proposal. Doesn't look like OG&E will be going there at all.


I think we are getting very close to an official announcement about all this with Stage Center, but wanted to share what I've been hearing.

Being that it looks to be OG&E, how tall do you think we will see?

[Pete]

The last I heard about the height -- and this was several months ago -- it was to be in the area of 30-32 floors.

[bchris02]

The last I heard about the height -- and this was several months ago -- it was to be in the area of 30-32 floors.

Nice. Well above the 20 stories in the official rumor. 30-32 stories should make it about the height of the Chase tower, or maybe taller if they do a significant crown on it.

[Thundercitizen]

My guess: 32 stories, 560ft + spire.

[soondoc]

We really need 1 or 2 towers to balance out the skyline. I love the Devon and everything going on downtown but it looks so funny with just one tall building and several medium sized. The Devon tower is beautiful but needs some company because it looks sooo out of place. I would love to see a double tower here. One about 32 stories and crown bringing it to about 560 feet and another about 25 stories with a tower or crown and about 440 feet. We need some height to balance out the lone ranger we have currently.

[modernism]

What ever happened to this tower?

Downtown Oklahoma City skyline is set for more growth | News OK

And these?

http://newsok.com/article/3720969

Is it just me, or am I noticing a trend here?

[hoya]

What ever happened to this tower?

Downtown Oklahoma City skyline is set for more growth | News OK

And these?

Oklahoma City's downtown skyline is set for more growth | News OK

Is it just me, or am I noticing a trend here?

It's just you.

We've had a tower announced at Stage Center, and we've seen another group doing soil samples on the corner of Robert S Kerr and Hudson.

[Pete]

Yeah, that first article was almost two years ago and was pretty specific: "New HQ for international company", specifically citing the Preftakes block and a 40-story tower.

Of course, this was all before the Stage Center property came on the market, so hard to say if this deal went away, is still percolating or has merely been moved to another location.

[catch22]

People see 20-25 stories and are thinking of a small building.

I was in San Diego yesterday and today, and saw this building across the street while waiting for the light rail.

It's 23 stories, has a wide footprint, and is an absolutely stunning building. I would not be disappointed at all if this went on the Stage Center or anywhere else downtown.

412 feet tall.

First Allied Plaza - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[catch22]

And might I mention, it had a very dominating feel (but not in a bad way), similar to how the Devon tower has a dominating feel.

[Spartan]

All of the above.

I kind of have a little meltdown every day that I log on and no new info on the tower has been released yet. But then I just put myself back together again. I've become quite adept at reconstituting myself from liquid form back into solid form.

+1

[Pete]

Heard they are planning to do demo in March, so buildings details will probably be coming soon.

[okcpulse]

+1

Liquid to solid? Is he a T1000?