OKLAHOMA CITY | Devon Headquarters | 850 FT / 259 M | 54 FLOORS | U/C

[LucasS6]

Originally Posted by Halovet

Quite true. OKC Is and always has been tops in that state. The Philly to Pitts anolog is a bit of a stretch though. Philly is enormosly larger than PBG. Perhaps Seattle to Portland

??

[HowardL]

Originally Posted by Hot Rod

I'd be sharing a good hearty laugh with my workmates too if I were in this building. She's a very sharp looking tower.

[futuresooner]

Definetly does not set the bar, it made the bar now for which new projects in OKC have to compete against. I expect more towers to be announced over the next few years due to this one tower alone.

Now, if only Wichita could get it together, then you'd have a string of major cities along I-35.

[WilliamTheArtist]

Towers dont always make a city. At this point I would rather have 20 more, 6-story with ground level retail, buildings in our downtown versus yet another tower.

[Bigtime]

Wow OKC that is a great score! Devon is well known here in Calgary due to the large oil & gas presence. Any chance you want to build it up here instead and make it our new tallest?

Looking at the cross section on the first page I had one question, is there no underground parking or structure with this tower? It only looked to go one floor underground.

[Coldrsx]

stunning!

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Wow OKC that is a great score! Devon is well known here in Calgary due to the large oil & gas presence. Any chance you want to build it up here instead and make it our new tallest?

Looking at the cross section on the first page I had one question, is there no underground parking or structure with this tower? It only looked to go one floor underground.

I think someone mentioned that there is a 10 storey parking garage as part of the complex, plus another smaller one.

More congratulations to OKC from a Calgary forumer. I'll be watching the coverage on this one, and would be interested to see it in person once it is complete.

[aaron38]

The tower has a very clean design - I've always liked triangular towers for some reason.

[stranger]

I think it is very strange to see "OKLAHOMA CITY" at the top of this section of the forum... I never thought I would see anything like it. But then again, I never expected OKC to get an NBA franchise either.

[Doug Loudenback]

As has been mentioned, I got really lucky and got taken under Steve Lackmeyer's wing (business writer for the Oklahoman), got to sit in the front row with my handy camera during the OCURA (Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority which owns the property) meeting which approved the project, and got a press kit. I assure everyone that the mood at that meeting was electric ... stunned electricity if that makes any sense to say. After the presentation, Larry Nichols (Devon's CEO) asked the OCURA members (to whom the presentation was directed) if they had any questions. LONG pregnant pause ... eventually the 150 or so in attendance started laughing. No questions, quick vote, slam bam thank you ...!

My own account and photos I took is in my Okc History blog here: http://dougdawg.blogspot.com/2008/08/devon-tower.html

It occurred to me to think the euphoric mood of the city today was not unlike that which probably last occurred in Okc in 1931, when a pair of side-by-side 33 story buildings were built. So, I assembled some vintage newspaper clippings and construction photos and did a study, basing it on data at skyscraperpage.com of buildings which existed in 1931 around the country. The detailed results of that study are here: http://dougdawg.blogspot.com/2008/08...irca-1931.html

In a nutshell, in 1931, measured by # of stories as the criterion, not height, Oklahoma City tied Philadelphia (if you can believe that!) with cities having buildings 33 or more stories. Unless I missed something (and I looked pretty closely), in 1931, showing city, # of buildings 33 or more stories, highest in story-county), it looked like this:

1) NYC (61 buildings at or over 33 stories, 102 story the highest by story-count)
2) Cleveland (1, 52)
3) Cincinnati (1, 49)
4) Chicago (23, 48)
5) Detroit (6, 47)
6) Columbus (1, 47)
7) Pittsburgh (2, 40)
8) Seattle (1, 38)
9) Baltimore (1, 37)
10) Houston (1, 36)
11) Kansas City (2, 35)
12) Oklahoma City (2, 33)
12) Philadelphia (2, 33)

The point is that 1931's OkieCitians likely felt then much like their 2008's counterparts do today, relatively speaking. Heady, and good times. After the pair of 1931 buildings were built, a heck of a long time went by - 40 years to be exact - before a taller building would be built here (Liberty Tower at 36 stories in 1971). Here's hoping that that part of Okc history does not repeat itself! But, right now, it's a great time to be alive in Oklahoma City.

[jbrown84]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Looking at the cross section on the first page I had one question, is there no underground parking or structure with this tower? It only looked to go one floor underground.

It has 2 underground parking levels beneath the pedestal, tower, and park.

[alleystreetindustry]

what a beautiful tower for oklahoma city.

but i am still super jealous.

[TransitEngr]

Originally Posted by jbrown84

It will be LEED Certified. And don't forget that OKC was ranked the most recession-proof American city. Also, Devon doesn't need financing.

It was also recently ranked as the most vulnerable city in America to high gas prices as it has the least amount of public transit per person nationwide.

[ChicagoSpire2000]

Originally Posted by plinko

Question, will this be the tallest difference in height from first tallest to second tallest (421') in a city? I can't think of a 400' height difference anywhere...a few in the 300'+ range though (at least at one time).

The Chicago Spire will beat the Sears Tower by 550 ft, and the Freedom Tower will beat the Empire State Building by 526 ft, both of which are more than this.

Anywho, this tower looks amazing

[Architect2010]

Originally Posted by TransitEngr

It was also recently ranked as the most vulnerable city in America to high gas prices as it has the least amount of public transit per person nationwide.

We also have some of the cheapest gas in the nation, and free flowing traffic. I'd be more worried about bigger cities that are coupled with expensive gas and a failing infrastructure.

But besides, that doesn't justify our horrible public transportation system. But...we are actually working for light rail...so ummm yeah...most people are quick to count us out on that because they're so keen to quote articles they've read. But we all know how the media doesn't tell the whole truth. This whole city wants light rail and is fighting, planning, and discussing it. But you wouldn't know that would you?

[Wheelingman04]

Great-looking tower. I hope it gets built.

Good luck with your NBA team too.

[BigBird9]

Wow! Way to go! First the OKC Thunder and now this... it looks like OKC and Oklahoma are moving on up.

It looks like it will fit in with the skyline pretty well.

[Hot Rod]

Oh, it's gonna get built. It's Approved and Firm Proposal!

This was demonstrated when Devon Energy recently completed purchasing the 14-storey hotel that is adjacent to the new headquarters tower site. Devon purchased the hotel as a courtesy - because they are building their new skyscraper so close. Purchasing the hotel was part of the 'construction' plan that CEO Larry Nichols announced - which since that part is now complete means to me that this is FIRM and will proceed.

http://blogs.journalrecord.com/persq...colcord-hotel/

[futuresooner]

If there is any project a bank might get in to, it'd be a new HQ for an energy giant. I have heard that Bank of Oklahoma (BOK), based in Tulsa, may finance this project. It'd be an awesome partnership.

[Complex01]

Hmm not bad. Its nice and sleek...