TDA approves a 2-year extension to the completion date for the One Place development. The article also hints that some of the rumors discussed on Tulsa Now about potential restaurants in this space could be true.
One Place gets two-year construction extension
By BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
Published: 5/4/2012 1:54 AM
Last Modified: 5/4/2012 6:26 AM
The Tulsa Development Authority on Thursday approved a two-year construction extension for the mammoth $120 million One Place development across from the BOK Center.
Now the privately funded project that encompasses a square block downtown must be complete by Dec. 31, 2016, rather than at the end of 2014.
Developer Bob Eggleston of One Companies LLC said the extension was needed for the staggering of the project's four phases.
The portion of the block for the third and fourth phases needs to continue being used as a staging area for building materials while crews work on the first and second phases, he said.
"We are achieving way beyond what was originally planned for the site," Eggleston said, referring to the development's growth.
The Development Authority - the city's real estate arm - entered into an agreement in 2010 to sell the bulk of the square block between Second and Third streets and Cheyenne and Denver avenues to the group for $1.5 million.
The rest of the property was privately acquired.
Construction on phases one and two began last year.
An 18-story tower on the northeast corner of the block has been leased by Cimarex Energy Co., except for the retail-based first floor, and is scheduled to be complete by next spring.
Work crews have now reached the eighth floor of the building with 10 more to go, Eggleston said.
The tower will have a 401-vehicle parking garage reserved for Cimarex employees until after work hours, when it will be opened to the public.
Then there's a five-story building on the northwest corner of the block that will be occupied by Northwestern Mutual and Check 6.
It is expected to be done by August, with its bottom two floors containing retail space just across from the arena.
"The total amount of retail between just those two buildings will be 42,000 square feet," Eggleston said.
"Adding in the other buildings, we are trying to get up to 70,000 to 80,000 square feet of retail so this will be a real destination."
The bottom floors of the Northwestern Mutual building that will face the BOK Center are attracting the interest of several high-profile restaurants, Eggleston said.
"When we release the names, it's going to be so good for downtown," he said. "These are places that are not even in the state right now."
Meanwhile, advanced planning continues on the third and fourth phases, which will contain a Hilton-brand hotel along with residential, commercial and office components.
The hotel building will have residences on the upper floors, Eggleston said, adding that construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013.
"Our whole concept here," he said, "is to create a special place where people can live, work and play."
Read more from this Tulsa World article at
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=689&articleid=20120504_11_A10_TheTul801876
