(PROJECT) One Place Tower

[Conan71]

I went to the groundbreaking today.

There were 20 people with gold shovels who scooped a little dirt all together for the cameras. Then they quit.

At that rate, it is going to take forever to build.

Slackers.  I'll take them some Gatorade after lunch.

[ZYX]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=334&articleid=20110624_334_0_Thhmrm63775

Too bad I can't read it.

[Conan71]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=334&articleid=20110624_334_0_Thhmrm63775

Too bad I can't read it.

Happy to oblige, I've not hit my limit on the paywall this month yet.:

"            One Place breaks ground on downtown development

>>Show All Photos
Architect Rachel Zebrowski (right) from Miles and Associates lifts a shovelful of dirt during a groundbreaking for downtown Tulsa's One Place Tower on Friday. MATT BARNARD/ Tulsa World

By BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
Published: 6/24/2011  12:30 PM
Last Modified: 6/24/2011  12:43 PM

To the theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey," gold shovels dug into a pile of dirt Friday commemorating the start of construction on the $100 million One Place development across from the BOK Center.

"It is with sincere relief that we are finally here today," One Place LLC principal Hank Pellegrini said of the mixed-use project that was first announced back in 2009.

The project is said to be the largest private downtown development in decades, encompassing the entire square block bounded by Second and Third streets and Denver and Cheyenne avenues.

It will have office space, a hotel, public courtyard, underground parking, and residential, retail and restaurant components.

Flintco will do the construction with Bart Boatright, who was project director over the BOK Center, overseeing the effort.

Demolition of a small office building on the site, as well as utility relocation, will happen in July, he said.

An 18-story office tower on the northeast corner of the lot - to be occupied by Cimarex Energy - will start going up shortly thereafter.

It is set to be completed in the first quarter of 2013, with the ground floor serving as restaurant and retail space.

Later this year, construction will begin on a four-story building that will stretch along the west side of the block.

The top two floors will be occupied by Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, while the bottom two floors will be restaurant and retail areas. It is expected to be done in 2012.

Being involved in One Place, Boatright said, is special because spurring such private development was the goal of the Vision 2025-funded BOK Center.

"This is close to the heart for me," he said. "This is going to be an extension of that success."

Mayor Dewey Bartlett said it would have been great to have this development in place earlier this year when the NCAA men's basketball tournament was being held at the arena.

"It would have knocked them over," he said. "But the next time we host the tournament - which will happen - this will be a reality."

One Place will be a driving force for the renaissance occurring in downtown Tulsa, Bartlett said.

Bob Eggleston, who was the construction director for the BOK Center, is a One Place LLC principal along with Pellegrini. Pellegrini is the son-in-law of former Mayor Kathy Taylor and her husband, Bill Lobeck.

The development group is busy fielding queries from other possible tenants, Eggleston said.

Two more major office tenants will be announced within the next few months, he said. Waiting lists have been started for the planned apartments, and retail and restaurants are clamoring to be part of the project.

Eggleston said he's also been meeting with potential hoteliers.

"It's all very exciting ... the interest that's out there," he said. "What's happening here today is the tipping point."

The bulk of the square block is being sold to One Place LLC by the Tulsa Development Authority, the city's real estate arm.

The sale already has been approved for a $1.5 million price tag.

The closing has taken time, however, because the parcels have been split up because of the financing and the environmental studies needed.

The deals on the parcels for the two office buildings should be final within a month, and the rest not long after, TDA attorney Jot Hartley said.

Negotiations continue with the private owner of the strip of land that used to be the site of the razed Towerview Apartments. That acquisition would allow the entire square block to be used for the development.

However, Eggleston said, the project is moving forward with or without the small parcel.

[SXSW]

I saw some drawings...Lobby is at 712 ft. above sea level and the building (as it currently stands) will top out at 950 ft. above sea level.  That puts the total height at 238 ft.

Looking forward to seeing new renderings.  Most of what I have seen makes it look more like the OSU/TPD Forensics building with precast and stucco with punched windows.  Curtain wall would look much better IMO.

[ZYX]

Happy to oblige, I've not hit my limit on the paywall this month yet.:

Thanks, Conan.  Interesting that they said there is a waiting list for the apartments, even without construction starting yet! I'm really excited about this development and agree with the mayor that it would have been nice to have this past March.


Also, with the height being 238 ft (as of now) I think it will somewhat impact the skyline. For comparison, the Mayo Hotel is 253 ft and 18 stories.

[Renaissance]

Also, with the height being 238 ft (as of now) I think it will somewhat impact the skyline. For comparison, the Mayo Hotel is 253 ft and 18 stories.

It will be apparent from this angle:

[ZYX]

http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/new-building-going-downtown-tulsa/nCzJY/

This link includes a basic layout of the complex. Kinda interesting.

[SXSW]

http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/new-building-going-downtown-tulsa/nCzJY/

This link includes a basic layout of the complex. Kinda interesting.

Yeah that's basically what I've envisioned from what I've heard about that block:
- NE corner: 18 story Cimarex Tower
- NW corner: 5 story Northwestern Mutual building w/ streetfront retail space
- SE corner: 10-12 story hotel w/ streetfront retail space
- SW corner: 6-8 story mixed-use apartments w/ streetfront retail space



I wish we had an architect from Seattle or Portland working on this and not Miles that typically does hospitals in Oklahoma and Texas.  This could be a great mixed-use project but not if it's designed poorly...

[ZYX]

Yeah that's basically what I've envisioned from what I've heard about that block:
- NE corner: 18 story Cimarex Tower
- NW corner: 5 story Northwestern Mutual building w/ streetfront retail space
- SE corner: 10-12 story hotel w/ streetfront retail space
- SW corner: 6-8 story mixed-use apartments w/ streetfront retail space



I wish we had an architect from Seattle or Portland working on this and not Miles that typically does hospitals in Oklahoma and Texas.  This could be a great mixed-use project
but not if it's designed poorly...

I think this will turn out to be an amazing project. I am anxious to see renderings though, but I think it will end up being designed pretty well. Curtain walls would look good, but if there are glass accents on the buildings (other than windows) , I think they will look really good.

[qingfeng456]

 I will look forward to them getting started.,Great news.

[qingfeng456]

it's very interesting

[Pentax]

thank you for information

[DTowner]

Even with boring building design, this project is going to have a huge impact.  With a good design, it will be spectacular. 

Setting aside the BOK Center and Oneok Field, when was the last downtown project of this magnitude?  Even the Williams Technology Building (now City Hall) seemed to have very little ripple effect - most likely because by the time it was done, the whole enterprise was heading down the tubes.

[Jeff P]

Even the Williams Technology Building (now City Hall) seemed to have very little ripple effect - most likely because by the time it was done, the whole enterprise was heading down the tubes.

Well to be fair to my ex-colleagues, the Williams Communication/WilTel business did just fine once it got out of bankruptcy in 2002.  In fact, we had 3+ years of very solid growth and were arguably the best run 2nd-tier telecom carrier out there.

That's why we were such an obvious merger target for Level 3.  There are still several hundred former WilTel (now Level 3) employees in that building.

But to the point, I don't think OTC could have had this kind of "ripple effect" because there was no other development around it to speak of.  It didn't have the momentum of a new big downtown arena, baseball stadium and burgeoning entertainment districts.  People's collective attitude about downtown were totally different.

And - it wasn't built to spur development, per se... it was built out of necessity, really.  

The BOK Tower was near capacity around 2000, as Williams was huge, and Williams Communications was rapidly growing.  At the time, we had WCG people spread around about 6 or 7 different buildings downtown, because (IIRC) we only had like 1 or 2 floors in the tower.  

[DTowner]

All good points.  I did not mean to imply that OTC was intended as a larger development, just that it was the largest private buidling in downtown in quite some time, but didn't get much attention when it opened or change the neighborhood much.  Some of that had to do with the type of development it was and some of it had do with WCG struggling by the time it opened.  Had the OTC been full or stayed full, it migiht have had a bigger impact on the area.  I do think it signaled that the more active part of downtown was/is shifting northeast towards the Blue Dome, even during the day time.

This project will help rebalance downtown from the BOK Center all along 2nd through the Blue Dome.