Devon Tower in OKC Unveiled

[Hometown]

Devon Energy unveiled their plans for an impressive glass tower in OKC today.  While we struggle with public financing for our new structures, a real corporation with real private money is spending a lot of money on a major tower in OKC.  

I hope this is where we are headed.  It's not unlike where we were.  I mean have you seen what oil money is building in Dubai?  I want some of that money spent right here in lil ole Tulsa.  Come on Tulsa oil men, give us a fancy new tower.  A great big one by a name architect.

[TURobY]

I agree. I'm a little baffled by the fact that I haven't really seen the building boom, such as that which accompanied previous oil booms.

[Renaissance]

Best hope for Tulsa's skyline was SemGroup.  They were on the sort of trajectory that leads to this sort of statement, until they missed a bet on oil prices (badly . . . irresponsibly . . . pick your adverb).  Gonna be a while till Tulsa grows another one with that kind of growth/ambition/potential.

[YoungTulsan]

Empty space doesn't mean anything, people want nice newly constructed luxurious office space in a good location with amenities.  Utica Place surely had no trouble leasing all of its office space before the paint dried.  Some areas of office space that have been abandoned will likely remain that way forever.  It is just another part of our "disposable" lifestyle.  We just build the next shiny new building and discard the old one.

[YoungTulsan]

That being said, who in Tulsa is a big enough player to invest in an iconic skyscraper at this moment in time?  QuikTrip seems fine with the HQ they have.  Williams and BOK are already in acceptable accommodations.  Semgroup... well, if that oil shorting deal worked out better for them perhaps Kivisto Tower could have been built.  A couple of months ago they would have been the only one I could see having the resources to build on Tulsa's skyline.

Maybe OneOK needs to do something with all the money they are making?

Helmerich & Payne ever going to build that new HQ at 21st & Utica?  (Which would just detract from downtown, but I wouldn't mind seeing 21st & Utica grow some more)

Who am I leaving out?  Who has the money and need to change Tulsa's skyline?

Tulsa's current economic strength seems to be in small businesses, none of whom require extravagantly large headquarters.

I hate seeing OKC keep growing so much quicker than Tulsa.

[OurTulsa]

What will this building do to lease rates in downtown OKC?  Or will this type of development attract others in and around OKC to come downtown and help absorb what Devon vacates?

[OUGrad05]

What a gorgeous building but it will dwarf everything in OKC and everything in the state.  But thats ok perhaps it will fuel a building boom in OKC.  

I think tulsa's biggest problem is ridiculously corrupt public officials

[cannon_fodder]

quote:Construction is expected to begin next year on a building that will consolidate Devon's headquarters city employees in one structure for the first time in years. Plans call for a building 925 feet tall with nearly 2 million square feet of space. By contrast, the current tallest building in Oklahoma, in downtown Tulsa, is 667 feet tall with 52 stories.

Ouch.  Congrats to OKC, but salt in the festering wound that Tulsa has become.  I'm getting very discouraged, we can't get a damn thing done - public or private.  Other than the BOk Center...

A $750,000,000.00 price tag.  That's commitment to the city.  And funny enough, it has an estimated completion date of 2012 - the same amount of time it took for the BOk Center.

It sounds top notch all around:
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D92M6OP00.htm

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080820_1_OKLA844602





All in all I am getting more and more depressed on Tulsa's prospects.  If we can't get our sh!t together now, in an oil boom, then when?  No explosive growth in the oil boom.  Government seems incompetent at all levels.  The city can't get a baseball stadium built or agree not to screw developers - let alone lure or build businesses,  the county can't even collect rent from tenants, and the State has no real interest in helping Tulsa out at all.

Congrats to OKC for getting their act together years ago.  At this rate Tulsa will be the dusty ugly town and OKC will have architecture, art, business and vitality that built Tulsa.  COME ON TULSA, throw me a damn bone.

/losing the faith

[OUGrad05]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

quote:Construction is expected to begin next year on a building that will consolidate Devon's headquarters city employees in one structure for the first time in years. Plans call for a building 925 feet tall with nearly 2 million square feet of space. By contrast, the current tallest building in Oklahoma, in downtown Tulsa, is 667 feet tall with 52 stories.

Ouch.  Congrats to OKC, but salt in the festering wound that Tulsa has become.  I'm getting very discouraged, we can't get a damn thing done - public or private.  Other than the BOk Center...

A $750,000,000.00 price tag.  That's commitment to the city.  And funny enough, it has an estimated completion date of 2012 - the same amount of time it took for the BOk Center.

It sounds top notch all around:
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D92M6OP00.htm

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080820_1_OKLA844602





All in all I am getting more and more depressed on Tulsa's prospects.  If we can't get our sh!t together now, in an oil boom, then when?  No explosive growth in the oil boom.  Government seems incompetent at all levels.  The city can't get a baseball stadium built or agree not to screw developers - let alone lure or build businesses,  the county can't even collect rent from tenants, and the State has no real interest in helping Tulsa out at all.

Congrats to OKC for getting their act together years ago.  At this rate Tulsa will be the dusty ugly town and OKC will have architecture, art, business and vitality that built Tulsa.  COME ON TULSA, throw me a damn bone.

/losing the faith

What should the state do?  The state wasn't helping OKC In the early/mid 90s.

[TheArtist]

Very nice building. Looks classy. Glad to see something like this going up in Oklahoma. And its about time OKC ended its shame of being "second tallest" lol. Now they just need to get a nice, contemporary, highrise hotel or highrise apartment building downtown to flesh out their skyline a bit.

As for Tulsa.... poor Tulsa. What can ya say. At least our downtown has the BOK Arena and the new City Hall building to show that the city isnt completely stuck in an 80s timewarp. Perhaps we can promote our downtown as some sort of "Historic Tour". Come see an almost perfectly preserved city of the 1980s era. Complete with huge parking lots. Too bad we took out the Main Mall, cause then the "effect" would have been perfect. []  However when you drive by, the skyline does look shockingly old and stagnant. Most people who live here dont notice how odd it looks because they are used to looking at it.

Way to go Devon and OKC.

[Renaissance]

quote:Originally posted by TheArtist

However when you drive by, the skyline does look shockingly old and stagnant. Most people who live here dont notice how odd it looks because they are used to looking at it.

What parallel universe do you live in?

That statement is just dumb, dude.  Sorry, but you're wrong.  We can't all be Hong Kong.  The only "shock" I know of that people get looking at our skyline is the shock of how large and elegant it is for a city of Tulsa's size.  

Jeez, such a pity party.

[YoungTulsan]

quote:Originally posted by Floyd

quote:Originally posted by TheArtist

However when you drive by, the skyline does look shockingly old and stagnant. Most people who live here dont notice how odd it looks because they are used to looking at it.

What parallel universe do you live in?

That statement is just dumb, dude.  Sorry, but you're wrong.  We can't all be Hong Kong.  The only "shock" I know of that people get looking at our skyline is the shock of how large and elegant it is for a city of Tulsa's size.  

Jeez, such a pity party.

Agreed, the Tulsa skyline is impressive.  It is the lack of activity downtown (hopefully the very near future will be the start of that turnaround) that makes it look stagnant.  Also the highways around downtown are all ugly with the exception of the landscaped area along the BA on the SE corner.  The concrete labyrinth and rundown warehouses that surround downtown are what detract from an otherwise distinctive and respectable skyline.

[cannon_fodder]

+1 on the skyline.  Everyone I know from near or far is impressed with Tulsa's skyline for a city our size.  Then I dread actually having them go downtown to see the empty streets and parking lots between the buildings.  [B)]

Per the State helping Tulsa, just the old adage about Tulsa kicking in $1 and getting back 50 cents.  OKC has government employment (more per capita than anywhere else in but DC) and cooperation on projects.   Want to move your freeway for aesthetics?  No problem.  Meanwhile Tulsa's I-44 expansion is decades in the making, we fight to keep a medical examiners office, and remain the largest city in the US without a public hospital.  Bah!  Nothing against OKC, it's against Tulsa really.  We can't get our **** together.

[OUGrad05]

quote:Originally posted by TheArtist

Very nice building. Looks classy. Glad to see something like this going up in Oklahoma. And its about time OKC ended its shame of being "second tallest" lol. Now they just need to get a nice, contemporary, highrise hotel or highrise apartment building downtown to flesh out their skyline a bit.

As for Tulsa.... poor Tulsa. What can ya say. At least our downtown has the BOK Arena and the new City Hall building to show that the city isnt completely stuck in an 80s timewarp. Perhaps we can promote our downtown as some sort of "Historic Tour". Come see an almost perfectly preserved city of the 1980s era. Complete with huge parking lots. Too bad we took out the Main Mall, cause then the "effect" would have been perfect. []  However when you drive by, the skyline does look shockingly old and stagnant. Most people who live here dont notice how odd it looks because they are used to looking at it.

Way to go Devon and OKC.

I'm getting the impression that Tulsans are getting fed up with the city government and perhaps, just maybe, 2010 will be the turning point  At least I hope it is.  I know in the next county elections I'll be voting against ANY incumbent regardless of political affiliation.

[YoungTulsan]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

+1 on the skyline.  Everyone I know from near or far is impressed with Tulsa's skyline for a city our size.  Then I dread actually having them go downtown to see the empty streets and parking lots between the buildings.  [B)]

Per the State helping Tulsa, just the old adage about Tulsa kicking in $1 and getting back 50 cents.  OKC has government employment (more per capita than anywhere else in but DC) and cooperation on projects.   Want to move your freeway for aesthetics?  No problem.  Meanwhile Tulsa's I-44 expansion is decades in the making, we fight to keep a medical examiners office, and remain the largest city in the US without a public hospital.  Bah!  Nothing against OKC, it's against Tulsa really.  We can't get our **** together.

How is that nothing against OKC?  They feast off the federal and state taxdollar trough, while our being a part of this state is a drain on our resources and ability to "get our **** together".

I am pretty bummed too thanks to this news, it really makes you think about how nothing much has been built in Tulsa for just about my entire 26 years living here.

We do really need to get with it before OKC becomes the "nice" city and Tulsa becomes the "****hole".