OG&E Tower

[stlokc]

I too am somewhat disappointed in what is currently apparent about this tower. I too was hoping for a 40 story tower announcement, with splashy graphics and an anchor tenant. I was hoping that construction would start on Monday.

But I have to admit that I'm chuckling a little bit to myself. 99+% of Oklahoma City is going to wake up tomorrow and be surprised, and many will be ecstatic about what this means for our downtown area. Maybe those of us (myself included) that troll this board should take a deep breath, step back from hyperbole and think about something else for a little while. What happens will happen, and maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised. For now, I'm going to bed.

[Spartan]

Maybe he had to purchase so that when he's 'looking' for an anchor tenant, OGE can say that they really need new digs - but they would need it at least 40 stories. Then they can magically produce a rendering that they had an architect mock up.

That would match how Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) is building it's new HW

[OKCTalker]

Williams is a good guy and will do a good job, and prefers the background, but he'll now forever be known as the guy who tore down Stage Center. Give him a chance.

[Richard at Remax]

My sources say there are a lot of sources with egg on their face right now

[Pete]

Williams is a good guy and will do a good job, and prefers the background, but he'll now forever be known as the guy who tore down Stage Center. Give him a chance.

What is his background in real estate development?

[bchris02]

I too am somewhat disappointed in what is currently apparent about this tower. I too was hoping for a 40 story tower announcement, with splashy graphics and an anchor tenant. I was hoping that construction would start on Monday.

But I have to admit that I'm chuckling a little bit to myself. 99+% of Oklahoma City is going to wake up tomorrow and be surprised, and many will be ecstatic about what this means for our downtown area. Maybe those of us (myself included) that troll this board should take a deep breath, step back from hyperbole and think about something else for a little while. What happens will happen, and maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised. For now, I'm going to bed.

I wonder if announcing it this way is being done on purpose for OG&E's PR. Think of the hate they would get if they came out tomorrow and announced an extravagant 40 story tower with their name on it. When a utility company makes a major investment in something like a tower, the public doesn't take it in quite the same manner as if a bank or tech company was building it.

[Pete]

As I pointed out earlier (and may have been missed), Rainey Williams is on the Board of Enogex.

And again, remember that Continental used a real estate developer as a front for their purchase of the old Devon building and hid behind him for six months until they finally announced they were the ones behind the purchase.


I suspect this will he the new HQ for the Enogex/Centerpoint entity and they just aren't ready to announce that, especially since it means tons of people would have to relocated from Houston.

It could also mean that OG&E may still build closer to their existing building. Steve hinted at this a couple of weeks ago.

[OKCTalker]

What is his background in real estate development?

BOK Tower for one. He's very low key.

[OKCTalker]

What is his background in real estate development?

He's a Vose. Old money. Discrete. Purposeful. Leaves little to chance.

[dmoor82]

very interesting Pete, certainly a lot more to this!

[metro]

Before everyone drama queen's out, we know it will probably by far exceed our expectations and initial announcement. I said from Day 1 that I hope it is a horizontally long tower, versus a slender tall tower. Going horizontal makes more sense to take advantage of PRIME PARK VIEWS. If they went the length of the block, or even half the block horizontally, 20+ floors would still do wonders in placemaking and creating a nice street life surrounding the park.

Here's what I'm talking about. If someone can photoshop this building or something similar on the west end of the Myriad Gardens, it would be appreciated and I think a good visual for people to consider.



Here's another great mixed-use example that was to be built in Hyde Park in Chicago. I think it would go well along the park, and we know it's going to end up being more than 20 floors anyways.




Studio Gang Architects | SGA Releases Design for City Hyde Park

[Pete]

BOK Tower for one. He's very low key.

BOK Tower in OKC or Tulsa? And you must mean investor, as he was a child when both of those were built.

[Pete]

Okay, let's back up here and take stock... This news is clearly only a very small part of the picture and while it's disappointing we don't get to see renderings of a new skyscraper, I think this may work out even better than hoped.

1. The buyer/developer is a Board member of Enogex
2. He speaks of "negotiations with an anchor tenant" and closed on the property without a signed lease
3. If it is Enogex, it would almost certainly mean the Enogex/Centerpoint entity would be headquartered in OKC; if i was only part of this new entity they wouldn't need to leave Leadership Square where they just spent over $3 million last year to build out space.
4. Mark Beffort, the broker for the sale of Stage Center, is also a principal owner of Leadership Square.
5. If the Enogex/Centerpoint entity is indeed HQ'd in OKC, that means hundreds of jobs moving here from Houston with possibly hundreds more to be added down the line.
6. OG&E will still need a building and I've said all the way along I thought they would want to separate from E/C.
7. OG&E has wanted to BUILD a tower for several years, so again this site doesn't seem to fit, unless Williams is just a proxy for them to later emerge as the true buyer (ala Continental)
8. Steve hinted that there may be a second tower built near the current OG&E building and we all know the NW corner of Hudson and RS Kerr would suit them well.
9. If all this comes to pass, it would make a lot of sense, especially since the Stage Center site is too high profile and controversial for OG&E.
10. We know the Enogex/Centerpoint name and headquarters will be named in the near future, because they've stated publicly they want to do an IPO before the end of the year. So Williams' promise to reveal more in "90 days" would fit into this timeline.

[PhiAlpha]

So what does everyone make of this statement by Mick Cornett:

"Mayor Mick Cornett is predicting Stage Center won't be the last older building threatened with demolition as downtown development continues at a pace unmatched in the past half century.

“Intellectually we understand it, but emotionally, it is harder to let it go,” Cornett said. “The larger context, I'm afraid, is that we are entering an era here where we have to swallow hard and consider what buildings may have to go to make way for new development.”

Sounds like he may be prefacing the possible demolition of buildings on the preftakes block for something greater...

[Just the facts]

I agree Metro. I mostly only care about the first 20' of height anyhow.

[Pete]

Another thought...

We all know Devon just formed their own MLP and is rapidly running out of space in their tower.

Could this new development house both Enogex/Centerpoint and Devon's MLP? And then Devon could help develop the Preftakes block into parking and other uses?

[Pete]

So what does everyone make of this statement by Mick Cornett:



Sounds like he may be prefacing the possible demolition of buildings on the preftakes block for something greater...

Could also be talking about the just announced plans to demo the Film Exchange building.

[soonerguru]

Excellent summary, Pete. This is indeed very good news for OKC!

[Jake]

Excited to see how this plays out!

[lasomeday]

There is very little chance that Devon's MLP will share office space with a competitor. They would likely wait until they figure out how they want to grow the MLP and then decide, and build their own tower.

There are other options of companies needing office space. There are many small oil and gas companies downtown that are exploding in growth that will need space soon. RKI is one example. In the last year they have doubled in size and are hiring like crazy.

[OKCTalker]

Could also be talking about the just announced plans to demo the Film Exchange building.

It would be a consistent sentiment, whether Film Exchange or another building.

[macfoucin]

I'm guessing Mr. Williams drives a Rolls?

[Pete]

Rainey Williams leads the investment group that bought Bank of Oklahoma Plaza (OKC) in 2007.

They have generally renovated that building over the years, although frankly the plaza upgrades weren't much of an improvement.


Rainey's dad was G. Rainey Williams, MD, and the OU Physicians building at OUMC is named for him. Rainey's mom is Martha Vose Williams, sister of Chuck Vose, Jr., daughter of Chuck, Sr.

Graduated Casady class in 1978 with Bill Cameron (American Fidelity), Clay Bennett (Dorchester) and Louise Gaylord.


Very, very connected in OKC with lots of access to old money.

[Pete]

There is very little chance that Devon's MLP will share office space with a competitor. They would likely wait until they figure out how they want to grow the MLP and then decide, and build their own tower.

There are other options of companies needing office space. There are many small oil and gas companies downtown that are exploding in growth that will need space soon. RKI is one example. In the last year they have doubled in size and are hiring like crazy.

Thanks for the info!

Was just thinking about how this might tie in with the Preftakes block, because I know something big is brewing there too.

[bchris02]

What about something like this?