OG&E Energy Center

[HOT ROD]

Isn't there also a law firm in BOK?

I am so curious why buildings in OKC take so long to fill up. I was just in Denver and Salt Lake City (yes SLC) and was blown away by the amount of buildings and construction in those cities. Yes, even SLC which has a shorter downtown and long has had a smaller downtown now has very many buildings (still short) and building more. ..

OKC should really figure out what it's peer cities are doing (yes I include Denver as a peer) and get with the program. Im not saying OKC needs to artificially build spec towers but we need to figure out how our peers are continually adding whereas we can't even fill anything without cannibalizing elsewhere or at all.

I didn't really see who is located in those SLC buildings but I wonder if the state of UT is a major component - when I did business long ago in SLC in the mid-1990s there was not much "business" there. OKC should be able to fill BOK (and BankFirst) nicely yet it seems we can't. ...

[BoulderSooner]

Isn't there also a law firm in BOK?

I am so curious why buildings in OKC take so long to fill up. I was just in Denver and Salt Lake City (yes SLC) and was blown away by the amount of buildings and construction in those cities. Yes, even SLC which has a shorter downtown and long has had a smaller downtown now has very many buildings (still short) and building more. ..

OKC should really figure out what it's peer cities are doing (yes I include Denver as a peer) and get with the program. Im not saying OKC needs to artificially build spec towers but we need to figure out how our peers are continually adding whereas we can't even fill anything without cannibalizing elsewhere or at all.

I didn't really see who is located in those SLC buildings but I wonder if the state of UT is a major component - when I did business long ago in SLC in the mid-1990s there was not much "business" there. OKC should be able to fill BOK (and BankFirst) nicely yet it seems we can't. ...

because you can build in the burbs in okc much much cheaper and you are still 10-20 min to downtown .

[dankrutka]

SLC also has really good commuter rail into downtown that was built for the Winter Olympics. That's an advantage. But, I'll have to check out downtown more next time I'm there this summer because I haven't been very impressed with downtown SLC in my previous visits. I certainly thought OKC's downtown was better overall.

[shawnw]

SLC has longer blocks than OKC if I recall (I think 550 ft vs 450 ft, but I'm probably off on those numbers).

[Pete]

Isn't there also a law firm in BOK?

They are just now building out a fraction of one floor.

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City
1 Devon Energy Center________844
2 BancFirst Tower______________500
3 First National Center_________493
4 City Place Tower______________440
5 BOK Park Plaza_______________437
6 Oklahoma Tower_____________434

Salt Lake City
1 Wells Fargo Center____________422
2 LDS Church Office Bdg_________420
3 111 South Main_______________387
4 99 West on South Temple______375
5 KeyBank Building_____________351
6 One Utah Cente_______________350

OKC's sixth tallest building (Oklahoma Tower, 434) tops all six of SLC's six tallest...

Source:
Oklahoma City https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._Oklahoma_City
Salt Lake City https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...Salt_Lake_City

[mugofbeer]

SLC has longer blocks than OKC if I recall (I think 550 ft vs 450 ft, but I'm probably off on those numbers).

Interesting about why SLC has such large blocks.

https://www.governing.com/archive/go...e-streets.html

[HOT ROD]

SLC also has really good commuter rail into downtown that was built for the Winter Olympics. That's an advantage. But, I'll have to check out downtown more next time I'm there this summer because I haven't been very impressed with downtown SLC in my previous visits. I certainly thought OKC's downtown was better overall.

dan - I totally agree that overall downtown OKC is better (and has been) and certainly taller no doubt. But SLC has a LOT of new buildings downtown and more U/C, none really tall but in my driving by their skyline did look more impressive than ever.

Larry - OKC's wiki needs updating. ...

[dankrutka]

I’ll check out downtown SLC when I’m there in a couple months and report back!

[mugofbeer]

I've been there a few times for work. I think SLC retains a much higher population of it's children where OKC has that huge business vacuum to the immediate south. There is more hi tech and finance there and the church probably keeps many young there. As in most places until Covid, they had preferred to live near downtown.

[Laramie]

dan - I totally agree that overall downtown OKC is better (and has been) and certainly taller no doubt. But SLC has a LOT of new buildings downtown and more U/C, none really tall but in my driving by their skyline did look more impressive than ever.

Larry - OKC's wiki needs updating. ...

Tell me why you think it needs updating--is there something that's missing on those 'tallest buildings list of six tallest selected...

[Laramie]

Back to OG&E: The Clayco project where Pete said they were in over their heads, IIRC the design had four towers (16 - 19 stories) two of which were residential components.



OG&E should build one 36 - 40 story tower with a residential section on one side of the tower with a north or south entrance where the OG&E corporate headquarters and the residential components are separate. More of an office/residential mixed use tower.

Or this

Could a development like this work...

[Plutonic Panda]

^^^ please f@ck no. We don’t need more soulless bland glass boxes.

[Laramie]

^^^ please f@ck no. We don’t need more soulless bland glass boxes.

LOL

OG&E obviously doesn't have the funds to build an iconic headquarters:

Suggestions please . . ..

[shawnw]

Interesting about why SLC has such large blocks.

https://www.governing.com/archive/go...e-streets.html

Very interesting, thanks

[Bowser214]

Laramie those are great suggestions for a modern city. I like how Devon tower reflects the sky especially as the sun is setting.

[HFAA Alum]

@Plutonic Panda
To be fair, a lot of those "soulless bland glass boxes" do a lot for the aesthetic of the city. Not only do they offer great views from inside, they offer really nice photo ops for the sunrise and sunset. A skyline in the middle of nowhere has to have some sort of appeal, and seeing the towers of the city go from blue in the day, to orange, pink, and red in the evening is a really nice thing to look at. Sometimes, it drags photographers from around the country to tour the city for their pictures (not a big thing, but it helps with the tourism dollars).

To divert for a little while: Mixed-use towers have massive international appeal, so it should also work here. It can also be used to offer some affordable housing to prevent gentrification efforts. Not only that, but it will drive more people to look at living downtown as an alternative. The only thing stopping that from being a viable reality is mass transit. If Oklahoma had a rail system that connected towns like Norman, Midwest City, Edmond, Stillwater, Tulsa, and Moore, you would see the downtown core of both the major cities grow by a bare minimum of 20%. At max, it could set up a decade of growth that would start to see mass developments akin to Houston and Austin. It would not only put the complex in the running to compete with those of Texas, but draw from other neighboring states as well.

Back on to the topic at hand, I would suggest that OG&E look at having mixed use towers as a way to utilize the space and potentially house employees and other tenants. That would also help expand the skyline.

[Plutonic Panda]

It would be nice if we could do better but I guess a desperate city will take it what it can get. I certainly won’t be upset if OKC lands another skyscraper even if it what I consider a soulless glass box but if they step it up and actually add other styles of architecture to it then that is icing on the cake.

[HOT ROD]

Tell me why you think it needs updating--is there something that's missing on those 'tallest buildings list of six tallest selected...

the wiki list has BOK lower ranked than OK tower despite it being taller. Omni still shows as proposed/planned and not complete, similarly Renaissance Hotel Bricktown which is U/C. Appears most of OKC's 200-300 ft buildings aren't there (whereas ALL of SLCs were).

Also there's no real write-up or story/history when compared to other cities; lots of missing citations reminders for OKC while other cities don't need them (??). Subjective - but the picture could be updated to include BOK and perhaps Omni now. ..

[Laramie]

Caught that mistake:

Oklahoma City
1 Devon Energy Center________844
2 BancFirst Tower______________500
3 First National Center_________493
4 City Place Tower______________440
5 BOK Park Plaza_______________437
6 Oklahoma Tower_____________434

See Post #2681

That why I listed BOK Park Plaza 5 and Oklahoma Tower 6. BTW Didn't list any buildings beyond Oklahoma Tower...

Go back and check Post #2681, Got you covered Bro!

[Oski]

I have never heard about this idea before, totally love it, it would be so cool if it actually happened.
https://www.jenx67.com/2012/06/john-...ns-museum.html

[OkiePoke]

Well, none of that stuff is there any longer. There were some cool ideas, too bad we didn't get a development on this land.

[shawnw]

That idea was heavily pushed at the time ahead of the demo, but now that it's gone, it won't be happening, at least not in that form.

[Oski]

The Stage Center sign is listed on Facebook Marketplace.

[shawnw]

Can't believe they're trying to make money off it, should be donated for some sort of creative use.