1.) No one has asked that SandRidge rehabilitate these buildings, in fact if they would step back and put them up for sale, they could actually make money on the deal. It is worth noting that it will cost them money to demolish these buildings, regardless of what they replace them with.

2.)If SandRidge will comply with requests to place the buildings up for sale, and someone chooses to purchase and rehabilitate these buildings, it will mean countless jobs for citizens of Oklahoma City and around the state. There are federal and state tax credits that could be utilized to mirror these projects with other extremely successful renovations projects throughout the state like the Mayo Hotel, the Skirvin Hotel, the Gold Dome Building, the Atlas Life Building (now the Marriott) and the Seiber Hotel (this is only a very small few of the successfully saved and very profitable building projects).

3.)It should be reiterated that the so-called “deficiencies” claimed by SandRidge in these structures HAVE NOT BEEN PROVEN. These “experts” have not come forward, and there has been no documentation to support this claim. This is something we can’t let SandRidge continue touting without some form of proof. Further, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (an organization comprised of experts who are more than willing to document their findings!) has offered now TWICE to (free of charge!) complete historic assessments of the structures, an offer which SandRidge has flatly refused. This raises some concern with us, because if they are as community and culturally minded as they’d like us to believe, why would they not want to take this opportunity?

4.) It is EXTREMELY noteworthy that the Regency Towers apartment building recently sold for over 1 MILLION dollars more than its original asking price (and for almost 6 million dollars more than what it sold for just 6 years ago). While the building is already configured for residential living, considerable work will likely take place to bring this building into a more modern and marketable state. This reflects the fact that Oklahoma City’s downtown market is in fact booming, with a 96% occupancy rate in downtown rental properties. It is also worth noting that there were 17 interested parties vying for this property. Clearly there is a demand for properties downtown; this is something SandRidge should consider before demolishing viable options for buildings that occupy such a large space in our collective memory.

This website is a very informative and non-biased presentation of the facts of the proposal:

http://www.preservationok.org/SandRidge_Proposal_FAQs.php

I could be wrong but isn’t all of Bricktown historical? If that’s the case, it is a completely different situation.

Why should they sell it? That isn’t a good argument.

They are only “useless old buildings” because SandRidge has deemed them to be (and aren’t willing to put them up for sale). If they were up for sale and no one came forward to buy them, then maybe you would have a point.

Should we bulldoze the buildings in Bricktown (some along the Canal) that have sent vacant since the Canal opened 10 years ago? Deteriorating because the owners aren’t redeveloping them?

If no one came forward, the City might need to do what they did and stepped in to save the Skirvin (one of the few things Mayor Humphreys did right)

You keep mentioning things like “development friendly”, the tearing down of historic buildings is the antithesis of development. They aren’t replacing the India Temple with another building. If SandRidge wants a suburban campus, it needs to be placed in a suburban setting. There are a myriad of locations where they could do it without destroying what little urban fabric is left. Even in the downtown area.

Most don’t have any problem with most of the SandRidge plan (where they are restoring or replacing a structure with another structure).

I don’t necessarily think that SandRidge’s urban grassland will contribute to a vibrant, dynamic, POPULATED streetscape… any more so than will a bunch of empty old buildings. My comment was directed toward the prospect of SandRidge moving to a more development-friendly location.

I would prefer to see successful, populated buildings, rather than another open space. I would also prefer freedom of development, rather than glassy-eyed obstructionism.

The proposed SandRidge development is better than a bunch of useless old buildings.

You’re welcome!

Do you teach a writing class? Love your style (try to credit it when I rip it off)

“This thing is going all over the map here without a compass. I’ll add to the disarray by saying the following.”

And what exactly makes you think the SandRidge park area will be a “vibrant, dynamic, POPULATED streetscape”? The renderings they produced? There are something like 5 or 6 corporate plazas/park spaces in the immediate area that are all terribly underutilized or completely empty most of the time. What about the SandRidge park space is going to change that?

Thanks!

Most architects have an ego too, and if you are national doing high profile projects like Rob Rogers, your ego is probably bigger than most. I think that everyone on here would agree that your heart is in the right place, but when you say you are going to email Rogers with some design suggestions, it is laughable. I don’t know you so to call you arrogant is wrong, but you have shown a lot of arrogance on this subject.

The ITB would make a wonderful boutique hotel except that the floor to floor is 10′-0″. That isn’t floor to ceiling. It is finish floor to finish floor. After you calculate floor slab, structure, mechanical, electrical, fire protection – you are going to end up with a 6′-0″ ceiling. It doesn’t make sense.

This is not IM Pei 2. That was far reaching and it tore down buildings indiscriminately to make space for new sparkling buildings that never developed because of the oil bust. The same thing is not happening here. It isn’t even close. You have blinders on, you can’t see the big picture. You are focusing on these empty buildings that aren’t being used now and won’t be in the future if they are saved. This development will do more to that area than what’s been done in almost 40 years. The project is exciting and should be welcomed.

Your blog says you are republican, but you talk like a socialist. Don’t take it personally, just think about it.

I wholeheartedly agree with him that lofts and boutique hotels would be vastly more desirable than an urban tall-grass prairie.

The City could indeed force SandRidge to keep the old buildings; but they can never force vibrancy to occur where it doesn’t make sense… If these old buildings are mandated to remain, they’ll most likely remain as ugly, empty tombstones to poor logic and regressive politics.