It's a done deal!
No surprise, the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority just unanimously approved the Devon project.
Wow
There is so much to this project. Employees will be up in the upper rafters of the dome of the atrium. An elaborate park. A public space for restaurants. The footprint makes it look as if the building is set atop a water garden. There is way, way too much detail here to rush out in a blog right now. But wow…. stay tuned
Larry Nichols: We didn’t just wnat to build a big corporate highrise that was highly secured and wasn’t embracing the city.
Nichols would like to see people visiting the National Memorial walking along Harvey to walk through the atrium on their way to the Myriad Gardens.
Nichols hopes the money this project will generate (I assume TIF) will be used to improve the Myriad Gardens and “the entire neighborhood.”
Veteran Urban Renewal commissioner Stanton Young:
I’ve always felt that every great city in the world had a great heart, a great center. I think what we’re seeing today will in the future be considered the heart, the strength, of our city.
It’s the most thoughtful design we’ve seen.
Just the facts….
Curtains just pulled from models. Crowd applause. Oohs and ahs. People are pretty happy right now.
Pickard: “We are endeavoring to build a beacon.”
Facts:
925 feet tall
54 floors
1.9 million square feet of space
“it’s one of the most substantive projects Mr. Hines and Pickard and Chilton have ever been involved in.”
Jon Pickard is speaking now
“We’re about creating a state of the art headquarters. we’re about creating a home – a home for the men and women who make up the Devon family.”
Pickard says they’re trying to create a building that speaks to the culture of Devon. Pointed out Devon is committed to the community, and design needs to serve entire community.
Pickard said his team looked at existing buildings, traffic patterns, plans for Core to Shore.
“There is an important north south axis. It connects from downtown Oklahoma City to the river.”
Pickard said the building is designed to accentuate that axis.
Gerald Hines is talking now
The developer flew in from London to make this presentation
“Over the last 50 years our firm has had the privledge of designing signature office buildings throughout the land.”
Such projects, he says, can enrich a the lives and cultural fabric of a community.
“Devon has assembled a world class team to assemble this project.”
“Pickard Chilton Architecture has redefined and enhanced skylines throughout the world.”
Larry Nichols is talking now
Comments:
“Having employees scaqttered in five different buildings is not th emost efficient way to run a company.”
”Oklahoma City, as we all know, has experienced remarkable growth.”
“We want to create a building that adds to that momentum.”
“Oklahoma City has come a long way to changing its image, and we hope this building will continue to do just that.”
Nichols points out that a new skyscraper in downtown Charlotte several years ago was key to changing that city’s national image. Nichols wants the tower to be a place employees will show off when they first move into their new offices.
The Day Begins
Your faithful reporter is preparing to leave home, drop the kids at school, and then to the downtown library where designs will be presented today for the new Devon tower.
It is, without a doubt, a historic day for downtown. We learned a little bit of new information in a story today in which Devon Energy CEO Larry Nichols describes the design as non-traditional. What that really means, however, remains to be seen.
As long as the technology doesn’t fail me, I promise I’ll provide you with updates throughout the morning.
-Steve
So What Do We Know About Devon Tower?
Check out Wednesday’s Oklahoman, and you’ll have a head start on the big presentation…..
Devon Tower Designs Will Appear at OKC Central First
Once upon a time, my job consisted of reporting on a breaking story, assembling all the information together, and then writing a story for the next day’s newspaper. We all know the world has changed since then, and I’m very happy to report to you that I fully intend to have Devon Tower designs posted at www.okccentral.com as soon as I can move them from a disc to this blog. That means, my friends, that if you’re at work tomorrow morning, be sure to check in at www.okccentral.com between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.
I’ll have my laptop powered up, the wireless card connected, and hopefully, we’ll all have some fun finding out what the downtown Oklahoma City skyline might look like in five years.
Here’s a hint: it won’t be “traditional.”
Higher and Higher and Higher
Devon Energy will release plans for its new skyscraper on Wednesday. So how tall will it be? This poll will continue through Tuesday night. For bragging rights, feel free to post a comment below the poll on your prediction.
