Devon Energy Center

[warreng88]

From the renderings, it looks like the tower will be close to the Colcord and the other "space" will be to the west. Am I seeing that right?

[Pete]

Yes, warren.

Not sure why they did it that way but that was the layout I had heard starting about a month ago.

The huge atrium will be to the west.

[Insider]

The center of the tower will be centered on the street that splits the parking garage. The building will be slightly east of center on the parcel of land.

[circuitboard]

This is fantastic! OKC is really going to shine now.

[Patchy Proot]

Great googaly moogaly! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Na na na na na, na! Thhppppppppt! Take that Tulsa, Dallas, Denver, and all of you others who soon will develop skyscraper envy! YoooooHoooooo!

[proud2Bsooner]

I have been looking for a new office for my business for a year and there is a shortage of class A right now. I have a feeling if Devon's current space is good Class A it won't be on the market long. I also think Larry Nichols has put a lot of thought in to this subject and would not do anything to hurt the downtown market.

He's been quoted as such. It is a blessing to this city that we have leadership, both private and corporate, that genuinely care about the future of OKC, and how their actions affect things HERE. This is an exciting thing to witness for me. Maybe it's cheesy, but this will always be home to me.

Now please pass the tissue.

[soonerfever]

Anybody put this on Skyscraperpage and SkyscraperCity yet? Obviously it's huge.

Just got everything updated on Emporis.

[Platemaker]

This makes Devon Tower the 21st Tallest in the country and 58th in the WORLD!

[Midtowner]

Nothing - this is all owner occupied and doesn't get included in the vacancy rate. As for the space they are leaving. Apparently there are several companies ready to move into that space (American Fidelity).

Is American Fidelity abandoning its Classen towers? That'd be a huge blow to that neighborhood.

[Pete]

This project will make OKC stand out even further because there is so little in the way of new skyscraper development in the U.S. currently.

There has been some activity in New York and Chicago but not much elsewhere.

It will be cool to show this building rising when all those NBA games are broadcast from OKC.

[Kerry]

Is American Fidelity abandoning its Classen towers? That'd be a huge blow to that neighborhood.

There was some speculation when the Kerr McGee building became available that they might move there. To my knowledge there was not any denial of the rumors from AF management and some employess confirmed those rumors on this site.

[LIL_WAYNE_4_PREZIDENT08]

Truely beautiful

I cant wait to see what the future holds....

[FritterGirl]

From Steve's blog:

"There is so much to this project. Employees will be up in the upper rafters of the dome of the atrium..."

I'm not quite getting that.

Employees will be in the upper rafters of the dome????

[Pete]

Here's Steve's post:

There is so much to this project. Employees will be up in the upper rafters of the dome of the atrium. An elaborate park. A public space for restaurants. The footprint makes it look as if the building is set atop a water garden. There is way, way too much detail here to rush out in a blog right now. But wow…. stay tuned

Larry Nichols: We didn’t just wnat to build a big corporate highrise that was highly secured and wasn’t embracing the city.

Nichols would like to see people visiting the National Memorial walking along Harvey to walk through the atrium on their way to the Myriad Gardens.

Nichols hopes the money this project will generate (I assume TIF) will be used to improve the Myriad Gardens and “the entire neighborhood.”

Veteran Urban Renewal commissioner Stanton Young:

I’ve always felt that every great city in the world had a great heart, a great center. I think what we’re seeing today will in the future be considered the heart, the strength, of our city.

It’s the most thoughtful design we’ve seen.

Also:

No surprise, the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority just unanimously approved the Devon project.

[Pete]

More from Steve:

Pickard says they never set out to build what is certainly the largest building in the city, maybe in the state.

“Height is fleeting. Beauty is not.”

Nichols:

Started with number of employees, then came up with 1.9 million square feet to house them.

400,000 square feet for the “podium.” And then 1.5 million square feet for the tower.

And:

Larry Nichols wants to double the size of the west City Center garage from five to 10 stories. Make it exclusively for Devon employees

[warreng88]

The center of the tower will be centered on the street that splits the parking garage. The building will be slightly east of center on the parcel of land.

Got it now. Had to go to Google Earth to be able to visualize it.

[Martin]

larger than what i was expecting... love the design. i'm excited!

-M

[sgt. pepper]

Can someone please go slap this on a Tulsa board? hahaha

now look for the announcment that oneok or bok will build a 950 ft. tower in Tulsa. Tulsa will not let go the tallest bldg. in oklahoma very long.

[BG918]

Now we need complimentary buildings at 600-800 ft. to balance out the skyline, much like what happened in Charlotte after BoA was built and then they got Hearst and now Wachovia. Midfirst Bank tower? Highrise hotel/condo tower?

[Pete]

One of those few times in life when something turns out to be better than expected.

Hope this sets a trend for future development.

[ourulz2000]

10 story parking garage, that's a another little skyscraper! lol

[soonerguru]

It won't be BOK, after they got caught up in the Semron debacle. They also are exposed to bad mortgage debt. Tulsa's still trying to build a minor league baseball stadium in their downtown. Sad.

[ourulz2000]

Don't let people say it doesn't fit in with the skyline, because most cities have a building that overwhelms everything else (i.e. nyc)

[Luke]

Sounds like Devon wants to "anchor" the north end of the Core to Shore.

Quite an anchor. And hopefully other buildings will spread southward for C2S.

[FritterGirl]

Um. OUrulz2000, did you misplace your sensitivity button this morning? Not sure that was the best example to use given the obvious.

Luke - yes. Mr. Nichols has very much expressed that this, and the Gardens, will be the northern "gateway" to C2S.