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.
This and That and This
This morning the Bricktown Urban Design Committee meets – and again the Cotton Exchange project is on continuance. If you read my early reporting, I tried to provide all the hints I could not to get too excited about this proposed project. As a reporter, I can’t say, “don’t believe it, it’s not going to happen.” Nor would I have if I could have. That’s not for me to say. Over the years I’ve seen people who should have had all the means and ability to get a project going, and they didn’t. And I’ve been surprised to see newcomers with no experience, no apparent means to get a big project done, do just that.
But the odds were against Gary Cotton’s original plans for the Cotton Exchange. It was being unrolled just as the economy was going south. Cotton has money, but he’s not Aubrey McClendon. And he had no experience in development. He made up for it by assembling an impressive team for design, construction and marketing.
So we wait for what he has admitted will definitely be a smaller project.
On other items, it appears as if the latest downtown video posted here is rather unpopular. So, should I eliminate the post?
It certainly appears as if the American Banjo Museum is a certainty. Work has begun on the building and a banjo performance will be included at the annual “Taste of Bricktown” this fall.
One more week until we see the designs for the new Devon Energy Tower. Yes, I have every reason to believe it will be several stories higher than the 37 first mentioned by Larry Nichols.
That’s it friends. Gotta run.
Inspiration from Charlotte?
It seems as if in many ways Oklahoma City is following the path taken by Charlotte, North Carolina, in becoming a big league city. So why not look at their skyline for a hint at what a new Devon Tower might look like? Here are my favorites:
Bank of America:
Wachovia Tower:
Hearst Center (my favorite of the three):
Only 13 days remain until we get to see what has almost certainly gotten the approval already by Larry Nichols.
The Colcord Hotel Has a New Owner
Well, what do you know, news still happens if I take a couple of vacation days. Jack Money has an article now at www.newsok.com detailing Devon Energy’s purchase of the Colcord Hotel.
And of course, the online community is just buzzing about this purchase and wondering about the implications. I don’t have all the answers, but….
It’s ridiculous to suggest Larry Nichols might want to tear down the hotel and replace it with parking. But if you’re looking for the negative angle on every story, go ahead and keep on talking about it anyway. Truth is, from the moment Devon announced its plans to build a new tower, one had to wonder about how the Colcord might survive the loss of its surface parking lot. The city-owned old Galleria parking deck is part of the site that is expected to be awarded to Devon by the Urban Renewal Authority later this month.
Devon, of course, wouldn’t mind having an upscale hotel next door to its new tower. And imagine the possibilities for both Devon and the Colcord if the tower development were to incorporate the hotel, instead of having architects and planners trying to work around the 98-year-old landmark.
Yes, it really could be that visionary – and that simple. While I’m not on this story, past discussions with Larry Nichols and other leading corporate leaders in this community are revealing. Look at Kerr-McGee in its final days as being the old way of corporate campus development: self contained, no interaction with the surrounding neighborhood, totally self-sufficient. The new way is to look at how to interact with the surrounding community, to not just benefit from the nearby amenities, but maybe even help enhance them.
Larry Nichols has previously indicated he wants to do just that with the Myriad Gardens. Is there any reason to doubt him when he says he has the same intent with the Colcord?
Larry Nichols discusses new skyscraper
Building on downtown’s image
By Larry Nichols
Many things help define a city. Its people play a major role. So does its size and where it is on the map. Airports, highways, landscape and streets are important, too. Of course, everyone judges cities differently, but if there is a single image that is most prominent in characterizing a city, it might be the skyline.
You can’t always judge a book by its cover, and the same is true for a city’s skyline, but people often try. By scanning a skyline and spending time among the buildings, you can draw conclusions about a city’s business community, its economic viability, its potential, its quality of life and its prestige.
The image isn’t confined to the downtown area, either. Impressions we develop from these relatively small districts are cast to the larger community.
Oklahoma City has been fortunate. The renaissance unfolding downtown has benefited our larger community in ways that may never be measured.
The economic development, private investment, cultural momentum and civic pride we have seen evolve over the last decade have redefined our downtown and our city…
Read the entire column here.
Ideal Downtown Weekend
Lots of Big Time Downtown News Today
Check in with www.newsok.com today and you’ll read about the latest progress on the new Devon Tower. They have a developer, and the selection speaks volumes about the direction this project is taking. Next step – an architect.
My collegue Bryan Dean, meanwhile, has a story about boat operations starting up along the Oklahoma River.
And finally, our imaginations can run wild with what Grant Humphreys might be planning to do with his new toy.
Get Ready to Cruise the Oklahoma River
Check in with www.newsok.com later today for more details. You might even find some other very interesting stories posted later in the day.
I’m off chasing news today, so this might be my last post for a while.
-Steve
