SandRidge Center & Commons

[blangtang]

the timing of this info is, uh, interesting. at least no one has brought up MAPS yet...

oh, wait...

[Spartan]

MAPS 3 makes it all better. Now that we got that out of the way..

[stlokc]

Count me among those who would prefer to maintain the historic streetwall and preserve the last remaining vestiges of historic downtown. Yes, the buildings in question may need work. And yes, if it's Sandridge's property, they have the upper hand. But OKC's CBD does not need another open air plaza. Sandridge's wants a clean campus. But downtown is not Memorial Road or NW Highway. The suburbinazaton of our downtown is a shame.

[Spartan]

They shouldn't have bought that campus if they thought they could take the urban out of it. What, did the realtor say, "oh don't worry, you can tear down anything that you don't need."

[G.Walker]

An equally ambitious makeover involving the demolition of four buildings, construction of one new building, a new entrance for the 29-story tower, and a redesign of Kerr Park across the street.

SandRidge will file an application with the city next month to tear down the one-time home of the YMCA at the corner of Robert S. Kerr and Robinson, the 111 Robert S. Kerr Building, which was built in 1902 but was covered with a false concrete facade in the mid-20th century, and the 11-story "KerMac Building" at 135 Robert S. Kerr.

By doing so, Ward said, the company will be able to create a new main, consolidated tower entrance opening up to the southwest corner of Robert S. Kerr and Robinson -- into the heart of the central business district.

"We'll be putting back new buildings where old buildings are now," Ward said.

All together, Ward estimates the campus makeover will top $100 million.

As the company prepares to makeover its own campus, Marsha Wooden, vice president of administration, has been working to coordinate its improvements with plans for a downtownwide makeover dubbed Project
180.

Source (Dec 06, 2009 (The Oklahoman - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX)

[Urbanized]

I'll tell you the truth -- I'm a little confused by your tactics.

[Spartan]

Isn't it actually the demolition of 5 buildings?

I like how the historic India Temple is referred to as the "111 Robert S. Kerr Building."

[metro]

http://www.okctalk.com/okc-metro-are...err-mcgee.html

[Spartan]

It must just really piss you off that someone other than you is starting a new thread that is simply rehashing an old press release..

[Kerry]

The suburbinazaton of our downtown is a shame.

You only have to look at downtown San Jose to see what too many plazas will do to an area. It is too far to walk anywhere in downtown San Jose. Just to get from one building to the next you have to walk across a large park and a major street.

[mugofbeer]

I am still open to this. I don't take a couple of plaza's as being "too many."

[Kerry]

Mug - I only posted a few examples. Downtown San Jose sucks if you have to go anywhere else downtown other than the building you parked your car at. It might be nice to look at but you can't walk it without getting tired (and I am not one that minds walking).

[Kerry]

Which looks more walkable to you? We need more OKC and less San Jose.

Downtown San Jose


Downtown OKC

[proud2Bsooner]

No offense, but I don't see Sandridge's plans endangering OKC in any way. Those pics of San Jose are nothing what OKC is like. The CBD of OKC is separate from The Myriad Gardens or C2S, and the space that Sandridge is making doesn't add that much. IMO, they are keeping the good buildings and ditching the bad ones.

[Kerry]

Those pics of San Jose are nothing what OKC is like.

That was the point of posting the two photos. OKC can keep the urban core urban or they can start bringing in suburban elements that will spread out downtown. If you ask me which cities downtown looks more impressive - it is OKC's by far. I am not syaing I am against the Sandridge plan because I haven't seen it yet, but I do know I like my downtown buildings pushed out to the sidewalk.

[Popsy]

Are any of the buildings proposed for demolition occupied by anyone or are they empty old class C buildings that contribute to the downtown vacancy numbers, while sitting there deteriorating and posing a fire threat to neighboring buildings?

[Kerry]

Are any of the buildings proposed for demolition occupied by anyone or are they empty old class C buildings that contribute to the downtown vacancy numbers, while sitting there deteriorating and posing a fire threat to neighboring buildings?

They are empty old class C buildings that contribute to the downtown vacancy numbers, while sitting there deteriorating and posing a fire threat to neighboring buildings. There is no question about that.

[David Pollard]

What a joke. I think we should look at this whole discussion as Sandridge's corporate responsibility to maintain what historic vesitages there ARE of OKC instead of thinking only about corporate image. That class C office space would probably be ideal (after historic renovation) for retail, restaurant space, living space, or even a museum dedicated to the City itself (as opposed to the State). THAT would be a good contribution from Sandridge which would put it in the heart's and minds of OKC's citizens. Not (with all due respect to the valiant effort of Devon over an existing parking lot), another people-less plaza.

[Kerry]

David - I think the problem is that the buildings can't be saved. The best you can do is construct a new building that looks exactly like an old building. That is not really preservation.

I'll give you an example - the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine, FL is being rebuilt. People are proud of their 75 year old bridge so they are spending millions to 'save it'. The problem is they removed 95% of the bridge during renovation. The only thing they left were some of the pilings - everything else was gone and crushed into dust. Now they are almost done rebuilding the bridge but when they get done will they have an historic bridge? No they won't. They will have a brand new bridge that looks 75 years old.

[lasomeday]

What a joke. I think we should look at this whole discussion as Sandridge's corporate responsibility to maintain what historic vesitages there ARE of OKC instead of thinking only about corporate image. That class C office space would probably be ideal (after historic renovation) for retail, restaurant space, living space, or even a museum dedicated to the City itself (as opposed to the State). THAT would be a good contribution from Sandridge which would put it in the heart's and minds of OKC's citizens. Not (with all due respect to the valiant effort of Devon over an existing parking lot), another people-less plaza.

David is right and so is Kerry. Maybe not all of the buildings can be saved but we should look at options to save them before destroying more of our history!

These buildings are in the best location in the city! They are vertical and not horizontal. We need to do what we can to save them! There are many people that want to live downtown in a highrise! They have grow frontage that can be converted to retail or restaurants. These buildings if restored can add so much culture to the city that Kerr McGee and Sandridge have kept from happening. Sandridge is a good company, but it is not as financial stable as people think it is.

IF THEY TEAR THE BUILDINGS DOWN, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK SANDRIDGE WILL BE AROUND IN FIVE YEARS TO DO THEIR PLAN!

SAVE THE BUILDINGS!

[Kerry]

David is right and so is Kerry. Maybe not all of the buildings can be saved but we should look at options to save them before destroying more of our history!

They already did that and they can't be saved, at least according to the report mentioned on this site. Personally, I would tear them down and build residential building on the sites. I'm not in favor of large downtown plazas at every building.

[OKC@heart]

I agree that not every building should have a plaza! It can destroy the continuity that is necessary in creating vibrant and dense urban streets. We need more infill projects that make use of the vertical space not just attempt at filling the area because the corporation owns it feels they need a welcome mat to their headquarters. The Plaza has a place but it needs to be employed very judiciously and carefully so as not to do more harm than good to the city.

I certainly understand the cries for preservation, however if the building cannot be feasibly saved then Sandrige needs to make sure that what they are replacing it with adds to the diverse urban fabric and is appropriate in both scale and form.

[fuzzytoad]

[OKC@heart]

Yeah HAhaha!! Exactly!

[Spartan]

No offense, but I don't see Sandridge's plans endangering OKC in any way. Those pics of San Jose are nothing what OKC is like. The CBD of OKC is separate from The Myriad Gardens or C2S, and the space that Sandridge is making doesn't add that much. IMO, they are keeping the good buildings and ditching the bad ones.

Ditching the bad ones - what does that mean? Do you know what buildings they want to tear down? Why do we need to tear down these buildings? Do you know what is wrong with these buildings? Do you know that these buildings can't serve another purpose?

Do you know the history of these buildings? Did you realize that one of them, the KerMac building (which is ripe for loft conversion), was the building where Kerr McGee was founded in? KMG is no longer here but there legacy still is, for now. Did you realize another building was the home of the old Braniff Airlines corporation? That building is also ripe for loft conversion. Did you realize that one of the other buildings used to be the site of the state seal when they were in between the Guthrie state house and the new one on Lincoln? That building might be beyond saving sadly, but it needs to be considered more--that building is too important to just assess as a lost cause without a closer look.

The only building that I can honestly say demolition might be warranted is the old YWCA and the high-rise parking garage, but the site needs to remain in scale with the urban environment..we don't need to take any more chunks out of downtown's swiss cheese urban fabric.