The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

Cimarex to move into new 15 floor office building across the street from the BOK center as part of the Place One hotel development.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=334&articleid=20100915_11_A1_ULNSon750822&allcom=1

I didn't see that coming, great to see this moving forward.  I can't wait to see more details/renderings of the entire development, especially the office tower.  It looks like the planned hotel is at 3rd & Cheyenne.

(http://www.tulsaworld.com/articleimages/2010/20100915_OnePlace0915.jpg)

Looks as if the rendering is taken from the perspective of the NW corner of the BOK Center at the base.

It also looks like there are two towers, one office and one hotel about the same height

This is very good and surprising news (with all the necessary caveats of believing it when I see dirt being moved, etc.).  Lost in the discussion the past couple of years of downtown housing and entertainment development has been the need for more workers downtown.  Building lots of housing downtown is great, but the best way to create demand for and fill up such housing is to have more people working downtown.

While Cimarex was already located downtown, this gives it more room to grow and adds to the limited stock of class A office space downtown.

An office building that is 2/3 preleased sounds like an excellent anchor for this entire development, whereas before it appeared like the anchor would be a hotel.  If this development could just get started it could be coming on line just in time for the economic turn around.  Good news indeed.

I am glad it will have retail space on the 1st floor.  Otherwise it would seem like a waste to be accross the street from the BOK Center.

I agree but if I see one cricket mobile store, I start smashing windows.

Reading the TW comments on this article really hurt your head.


Here's a couple of choice ones. I don't think either person even bothered to read what they were commenting on:

The lot as it exists currently (and what you see from the main entrance to the BOK Center)
(http://www.tulsaworld.com/articleimages/2010/20100915_TulsaSkyline.jpg)

I thought it interesting that Eggleston said he has enough letters of intent from interested would-be retailer and restaurant tenants to fill the place twice over.  While history says announcements and newspaper articles are a far cry from buildings rising from surface parking lots, it is encouraging that this project has generated that much interest

Great Stuff!

This makes the BOK and the Ballpark worth it all.  This is reaching "critical mass".

I would think this will do more for property values in the Downtown area than the Ballpark ever would.

Wonder what Mister Kaiser thinks of this? He will be running a Hotel in very close proximity.

The one day I skip the Whirled and all the balloons start popping.

Great news, I will look forward to them getting started. 

Hmm, very similar in site plan (not style) to one we, The company I used to work for worked on years ago.
(https://www.me.com/ro/scottgaspar/Galleries/100021/raskin3.jpg?derivative=medium&source=web.jpg&type=medium&protocol=roap&item=galleries&asset=media&ver=12240735020001)

(https://www.me.com/ro/scottgaspar/Galleries/100021/raskin4_2/web.jpg?ver=12242502580001)

I like that layout, it opens the venue in the right direction.

Views looking west from this part of downtown are really nice, right down the river valley.  I can see the appeal of a new office tower in this location over their current digs at 5th & Boston.  I researched Cimarex Energy and it looks like they are a well-positioned oil/gas exploration company with a good potential for future growth.  Their corporate HQ is in Denver but they have offices in Tulsa, Dallas, Midland, and Houston.  If they're willing to lease that much space in a new building they must plan on increasing their operations in Tulsa.  That is a lot more space than they currently occupy in downtown.

That kinda looks like the Whole Foods headquarters in Austin TX. Very nice.

I guess they solved the utility conduit issue. 

I forget... is this contingent on TDA action? 

TDA finally acted approx 1 year to the day after the bid was made.

I've resorted to making it a personal rule for myself to not read the TW article comments.  The fact is, there are just too many ignorant people out there.  To the second poster, BOK is actually one of the 50 largest banks in the US.

And just to point out a misnomer: real estate vacancies are not corrected by simply filling up the existing supply of available space. Downtown's relatively high vacancy rate of past years had far less to do with distaste for the downtown area than the fact that newer office space with better technological infrastructure was becoming increasingly more available in suburban Tulsa.  New construction and/or new remodeling is key to attracting and keeping companies' offices downtown.  Some older office buildings simply aren't practical for today's class A office space (i.e. Atlas Life, Philtower) but have outstanding adaptive re-use potential.

I wonder how often the vacancy rates are updated to reflect the conversion of office space to retail, hotel, or residential space.   

Whenever there is a story about recycling or garbage, a couple of posters find ways to attack me in the comments. It really makes you hate the comments sections.

Sorry RM, I guess I'll stop the attacks ;)

I'd like to see the other elevations for this project. It looks like the tower stretches around the corner on the NE side.

The comments section is pretty useless.  A lot of news websites have disabled them.  I wouldn't mind seeing the TW do the same.

Does anyone know who the architect is for One Place and/or the proposed tower?  I'd like to see more renderings.

You guys think the TW comments are bad, Youtube is what really takes the cake.

You can be watching the most plain video about how boxes are made, and somehow the comments are all a bunch of people calling each other the n-word.

I think it's Miles & Associates

I have to agree with you.  I think it would be best if they where just moved out of the way.  They do more harm then good.

Or a story on someone who finally succeeded in winning a Darwin award draws some nasty comments and you get a sparring match between readers and the friends and family of the Darwinee.

Mike Easterling article from Urban Tulsa w/ more info on the development.  Sounds like the tower might go higher than 15 stories.

http://www.urbantulsa.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A32624

That would be cool to see a taller building at that corner.  By comparison City Hall (OTC) is 15 stories and 740,000 SF on a half block.  This building will be on a quarter block with roughly a third of the square footage (~260,000 SF) when all is said and done, assuming no more tenants sign leases.  That would put them around 15-16 stories.  If they are at 17 ft. floor-to-floor that is 272 ft. at 16 stories which would be roughly the same height as Boston Ave. Methodist Church tower and slightly taller than the Mayo Hotel.

Must be refering to the guy who flew his Mustang into Eaton Sq. Apts.

What's with the double row of floodlights just pointing straight up into the sky?
Is it to celebrate conspicuous consumption, or just show off the skills of a behind-the-times architect?

That is part of the APLS, but won't appear in the final design.











(Arouse Patric Lighting System)

Yes, I made that up.

That one came to mind, there have been others.

+1

Behind the times?  I know its just a sketch, and likely to change, etc. but that building with the lights on it does kinda look like a 1980s parking garage.  Course my younger friends tell me the 80s are really "in" now.

Thanks for the "1980's" reference. I've been looking at the drawing and the photo, and maybe it's just me, but the style just doesen't fit right. Maybe it's the architectural differences in the buildings in the background that this design just doesn't seem to fit.

What design would look good with the Dark Vader buildings in the backdrop?

Good point, and thats one of the things I love about downtown. It is an eclectic collection of architectural styles. Predominantly Art Deco, some post modern, and then into the 70's, 80's and 90's glass and steel. Looking at the drawings it almost looks like it may have the feel of exposed concrete that like the DHS building west of the CC. I guess I'm partial to Art Deco, Frank Lloyd Wright, and post modern.

 :D
It's one thing to uplight Art Deco, another to just uplight circling moths and birds.

Hopefully the final renderings are much better.  Something similar to the hospital building Miles + Associates designed in OKC for the tower would fit in well:
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/healthsciences/childrensphy4_510_2010_09_26.jpg)

For the mixed-use/apartments along Denver, something more like this:
(http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/mar05/kenilworth030605.jpg)

This is a nice "block-sized" mixed-use project that features some good designs:
(http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/bym/img/jul05/condos0715_big.jpg)

Any news on this project?  Cimarex stock has been kicking butt recently and they are in major expansion mode.

It is scheduled to break ground next month.

I heard recently that site work will begin next month on Cimarex Tower with Flintco doing the construction. Very exciting... :D

Correct, Flintco is building it.  Next month is pretty optimistic for starting though from what I've heard, probably more like early summer before any actual site work begins.  They are still finalizing designs and beginning the bidding process.

Oh, okay. I hadn't heard anything official, this was just rumors I had heard.

I have seen mention that this has been downsized to pretty much the office tower and maybe the hotel. I highly doubt this, but it kinda worries me. Can anyone confirm otherwise...? :(

Update on this:
A second tenant is announced for the much anticipated "One Place" development downtown.

The development will take up the entire block across Denver Ave., from the BOK Center.

One Place will soon be home to commercial, residential, retail, restaurant and hotel space.

Developers say the entire complex will be about 40,000 square feet larger than originally planned.

Last fall we found out Cimarex Energy, an oil and gas company would move it's Tulsa offices into a new 15 story tower at One Place.

In a 2NEWS exclusive Thursday morning on 2NEWS Today, we learned Northwestern Mutual Insurance will also move into the building.

The company currently offices at 71st & S. Yale Ave. Northwestern Mutual's 55 employees now in South Tulsa will be moving in once the construction is all wrapped up.

Developers say construction will get underway sometime by the end of next month.

Northwestern Mutual is headquartered in Milwaukee.

http://kjrh.m0bl.net/w/main/story/24744919/

Definitely good news. Can't wait to see it go up!

This project was ready to start a month ago but then they changed some things, including this new announcement that Northwestern Mutual is moving from 71st & Yale to the corner of 2nd & Denver.  I was told there were some property ownership issues that have taken longer than expected to resolve, and that the TDA is moving at their usual glacial speed as well.  Hopefully we'll see something start this summer.

Here is a rendering from the TW...hopefully they'll releases some better ones once the design is finalized. 
(http://www.tulsaworld.com/articleimages/2011/20110414_OnePlaceRendering0.jpg)

So no retail or entertainment on that side of the block then?

That's a shame.

It looks like a pretty big block . . . I bet they'll leave some ground floor open to retail/restaurant.  IMO it's too valuable as retail/restaurant to NOT have it happen that way.

A)  It's a great sign that businesses from the edges of the city are moving back downtown.  In the scheme of things, this is a monumentally important reversal for downtown as a center of commerce.  Remember radio hosts squawking about 71st and Memorial being Tulsa's actual "downtown?"  Moves like this are a tangible rebuttal.

B)  The glass fronts look like they could easily host retail and entertainment.  Or is it going to be oriented toward the interior of the block, towards the center/courtyard?  Also, is that a roof patio I note on the northwest corner?  

It is just a rendering.  I guess I'm looking at a half empty glass this AM for some reason.

according to the tulsaworld article this morning:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20110414_11_A11_CUTLIN211469

"Northwestern Mutual will occupy the top 2 floors...while restaurant and retail space will consume the bottom floors."

Well that's a plus then.  My glass is half full now.  Appreciate the update.

There needs to be leasable restaurant retail space along Denver and 3rd.  Not so much the 2nd and Cheyenne frontages.

I don't want to be negative either, this is an exciting development - but - that western exposure to the BOK center bites (if the sketch is accurate). I hate the high window on the southside, I do not like the entrance and the building is not very "inspired". They can do better.

To be fair, the "rendering" is practically a crayon sketch.  I'd wait on some details to complain about.

I want lots of things for this development. I hope it is a great shining example of mixed use and becomes a complete partner with the Arena and west downtown.

But I will be happy with anything there but a surface parking.

These guys are taking real risks building this super block. They are going where most would not. How many among us would be building hotels and office and retail in this economy? How many of us would put up with the pace of TDA?

These guys are heroes when this is done. They are putting in as many dollars and jobs to energize Tulsa as all the Blue Dome district partners or Brady area entreprenuers combined.

It is wonderful to be a Tulsan right now. I will always be thankful to risk-takers like these.

My kids want to live downtown now because they think the Blue Dome, The Brady, the Ballpark are great places to be. My nine-year old doesn't have any memories of downtown Tulsa before all this happened.

This Place One development just keeps the good things coming.   

I will wait to comment on the design, because that is such a conceptual drawing.

But I can't wait for this to start. I'm sure whatever ends up there will be fantastic. I am going to live downtown when I get old enough to buy a house. Don't know about raising a family there, but we'll see. The mindset of many suburbanites is changing. My Dad said something last night that shocked me. That he wanted to go downtown more. I couldn't believe he said this (he is one that guns it to the on-ramps as fast as he can). Downtown has exciting days ahead of it. I can't wait to see the area around the BOK Center once this, the aLoft Hotel, and the YMCA buildings are complete!

The great thing about this development is that it is so visible being across from the BOK.  A lot of people go downtown to go to the BOK or convention center and this is what they'll see (especially those that will park in the lot to the north and the garage on 2nd), which is good for downtown as a whole. 

Another nugget from the Tulsa World article is that the 4 story building for Northwestern Mutual is not only going to start first, but is supposed to be completed by next summer (2012) because of NW's aggressive move-in schedule.  Anything that gets dirt being moved on this site is a huge plus.

In the scheme of things, convincing south Tulsa companies that downtown is the place to be is probably a necessary precursor to convincing out-of-town companies that downtown Tulsa is the place to be.  Momentum continues to build. 

Come on TDA, get out of the way before you discourage more Tulsa Development!

Weren't there issues with a utilities conduit on the eastern half of the block?  I bet they are able to start earlier on this side because they can avoid that complication.

Tulsa Development Avoidance

I have yet to this day understood the point of this organization. They are nonelected officials. It should just be obliterated. I cannot think of anything they have done to encourage development.

Agreed, they just amass property and send out feeble RFP notices. When they get a serious RFP they suddenly don't know what to do with it.

TDA is Exhibit A in support of Blake Ewing's point that Tulsa city government too often acts as a hindrance rather than an assistance to downtown development.

Fixed it

An interesting fact worth noting here is that the current NM office at 71st & Yale is owned by Kaiser Francis, and the Kaiser Family Foundation has a physical office in the same building.  Hans Helmerich is also on their national board of trustees.  They are a company with some big-name Tulsa ties and an interest in the city's prosperity.

The Helmerich family is also a big part of Cimarex.  The bulk of their operations and personnel are in Tulsa but the corporate HQ is in Denver.

Kaiser-Francis' offices are in that same area near 71st & Yale, closer to 68th & Canton; the two black buildings near Explorer Pipeline's HQ.

Another noteworthy fact: Lance Franczyk, who runs that NW Mutual office, is a big proponent of Downtown and even spent some time as a TulsaNow board intern (through Leadership Tulsa)

Cimarex was founded when Helmerich & Payne spun out their oil & gas division to their existing shareholders and merged it with Key.  I've heard the Helmerichs were a little surprised they decided to stay in Tulsa.

Key was HQ'd in Denver and is now the corporate HQ for Cimarex.  The bulk of their drilling operations is in Oklahoma and Texas so it makes more sense to have most of their employees in Tulsa.  I believe they have 400-500 employees with plans to hire more, hence the need for a 15 story building downtown.  I don't know how many people work in the Denver office.  They also have offices in Dallas and Midland but they are smaller.

I am excited about the project but would like to see it head more toward LEED construction especially using Low Impact Development.

I heard just today from an architect familiar with the project that the Cimarex building will have a parking garage on the lower floors and will be a minimum of 20 stories.  They are still working on the design and will be releasing renderings to the media soon.  Construction will begin later this summer.

This could end up really changing the skyline if it's 20 stories or more.  One Tech has an impact from certain angles at 15 stories but is dwarfed by the BOK Tower next to it. 

Just a whole bunch of exciting.  Do you know how many stories the BOK tower is, approx? 

If that's not a facetious question, then it's 52 exactly.

If it is, then none of your business....

 ;D

Nice, that would make this new building around 200' tall, so taller than ONEOK and the Mayo hotel as a reference.

Thanks . . . and no Hoss, I wasn't joshing.  Me likey tall buildings, and the taller the better. 

The prospects of this project keep getting more interesting.  Does the incorporation of parking into the tower mean that there will be no underground parking as originally planned?  Is this because of the underground utilities issue previously discussed?  I hope the parking is better incorporated into the building design than the Bank of America Tower - perhaps some added portals so cars can peek through without busting a hole in the brick.

Keep in mind also that parking floors are typically shorter than office floors.  This apparently is going to have roughly five floors of parking at the base.

Your reference is flawed.  According to Emporis, the Mayo Hotel is 77 meters tall = 252.624 feet.

Correct.

52 stories, 667 feet.
 
:)

Ok, so about the same height as the Mayo Hotel as a reference.

When you say construction will begin later this summer, are you referring strictly to the Cimarex building?  Are we still expecting construction on the Northwestern Mutual building to begin this month (which I guess means this week)?

I was part of a tour of the place in the late 70s as part of a TU engineering class regarding power distribution and HVAC. We were allowed on the roof.  I cautiously looked over the short wall to the ground.  It's a L O N G way down.

I don't have a fear of heights, but I don't know if I could've done that (looked over the edge). I always imagine a big gust of wind picking me up and pushing me over the wall. I have been on the roof of the Sun Building though, where there is no wall.

I've been up there several times.  It's probably not for anyone afraid of heights.

Here are some shots I took the last time I was up there (last December):

Straight down to the Williams Green - 667 feet:

(http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/7455/roof1.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/135/roof1.jpg/)

View to the south:

(http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/4350/roof2.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/715/roof2.jpg/)

One of the interesting things are the lightning rods that are stationed about every 5 feet all the way around the edge of the building.  Several of them have burnt and slightly melted tips from strikes. (Not this one):

(http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/4435/roof3z.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/849/roof3z.jpg/)

Another interesting tidbit -- there are often bits and pieces of pidgons and other small birds "left over" from the large hawks that nest in the "BOK" sign on the south side of the building. 

(No photo on that one)  :)

Nice pics!  Especially like the cfl bulb on the roof.

Jeff P, welcome aboard and thanks for sharing the info and photos.

Yeah - we replaced the old incandescents a few years ago.  One thing that surprised me when I went up there the first time was that those lights you see around the top of the building were just regular old 100-watt bulbs.

Now they're just regular old 23-watt CFL bulbs.  :)

I look at the picture of The Green, and all I can think of is the woman in 94 or 95 that did a swan dive out of the hotel. I was working on upgrading the data network for Vintage Petroleum and just heard this blood curdling scream come from one of the offices, the woman that worked in the office saw it happen.

I'm fine in an airplane or firmly attached to something.  I have a difficult time with leaning over the edge of anything more than about a broken leg high.

I'll have to wait to get home to see the pictures, they don't show here.

That was my buddy's first pick up.  He was in school and is now a mortician.  He was descriptive.

I believe so...it's all design/build from what I've heard.  The Northwestern Mutual building should begin before Cimarex.  It will be nice to see all of the activity on that site.

Agreed.

I'm especially excited to see an ugly surface lot go away.

Just six years ago we were arguing about the Towerview...can't believe dirt is finally going to get pushed around on this lot.

You aren't the only one.  I'd say roughly 25% of the conversation around here is, in one form or another, a rant against surface parking.  

As it is in just about every mid-sized American city.  When I was in Denver it was talked about ad nauseum.  If you've ever been to downtown Denver they have a "parking lot district" that rivals ours by TCC, and numerous lots in between Lodo and the CBD (similar to our situation between Blue Dome and the CBD by the PAC).  They have made a lot of inroads but there is still a lot of surface parking, which is surprising considering the size of Denver and their excellent transit system that puts ours to shame. 

Yep.

I know exactly what you're talking about.  We have an office in downtown Denver near Lodo... been there many times and I even remember noticing the large number of surface lots in that area.

Look at the boon surface parking is to parking operators.  All they have to do is put down some sub-par asphalt, paint lines, put in a collection box and they are in business.  

There's a lot of expense to constructing parking garages which takes forever to recoup expenses.  Seems like someone mentioned on here awhile back a garage costs about $30,000 per spot.  I hate all the surface parking as much as anyone, yet there doesn't seem to be any incentive for parking operators to build vertically.  The only way it becomes easier is if they can get the local government to subsidize it or if all landowners in a CBD refuse to sell a parcel unless it will specifically be re-developed into anything BUT surface parking.

 

We use tax policy to promote all sorts of behavior and actions.  Tax surface parking as though it were a multi-story parking garage.  Make it financially unattractive to put in sub-par asphalt...

That's one other incentive I forgot.

Or continue to coddle the proprieters like we do today, hell our current mayor even considered handing over control of the meter business to American Parking. That would have given them the ability to equalize the cost of parking on the street with the cost of parking in one of their lots and eliminate the (free after 5 and weekends) competition.

If the structured parking includes a retail aspect at ground level then your break even date is not so far in the future.

(http://www.filmcritic.com/assets_c/2010/02/Blazing-Saddles-thumb-560xauto-23402.gif)

"Harumph"

It would be interesting to see what would happen to the surface lots if all new downtown buildings/developments incorporated multilevel parking into the project.  Of course, that would mean there would have to be a lot of new building to have much of an impact.

Increasing property values might help incentivize alternative uses for surface lots, but that is likely to be slow going at the current pace of development.  The reality is it will probably take the city building several large parking garages to really change the economics.

You're really on with the quotable movies thing this week...

Glad to see the project moving forward.

As for the surface lots, I understand many of them are city owned and leased to the parking companies (American is the only one I can think of at the moment).

I'd appreciate a change in the lease structure where there's a minimum of care taken by the parking companies for beautification of each lot.  (trees, walls at entrances, leveling of each lot, etc).

Hell, I was walking across the lot across from the PAC and nearly kissed the asphalt when I tripped over a 3 inch broken rise in the middle of the lot.

They are bad people.  Tripping on something like that in flip flops can be detrimental to my pigs.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN99jshaQbY[/youtube]

*spittake*

I think the best you will get is a "Shoes Required" or "No Flip-Flops Allowed" sign.   :(

American Parking operates Main Park Plaza (4th from Main to Boulder), Philtower (monthly only), KC Auto Hotel (Cincy btw 3rd & 4th / monthly only / and has an apartment on top that owner lives in), Civic Center Parkade, BOA Building Garage, Murphy Garage (1st & Detroit across from Lyons'), Mayo Motor Inn (4th & Cheyenne) & 100 W Garage (1st & Boulder) and 15-17 other surface lots.

Central Parking has 4 garages in the Williams Tower / One Tech / Jazz HOF area and a garage down by the Doubletree.  The also have 15-17 surface lots they manage.

Those two companies don't own most, if any, of these garages or lots.  They have management contracts and charge what they negotiate with the owner.

Assuming the city had free night & weekend parking in the contract I didn't have a problem with privatizing the enforcement of street parking.  One of the issues downtown continues to be workers or day long visitors squatting in spots.  The city doesn't have the staff to enforce this all over downtown.  In the last year they have started enforcing it heavily in the 4th & Boston area.  For three years (ending in January) my office was at street level in that area and I saw the enforcement change before my eyes.  It was great because clients had a much easier time stopping by the office for a 30-60 minute visit when a spot wasn't clogged by a squatter.

The enforcement at the surface lot at 3rd & Boston has been even more agressive lately.  Whereas in the past violators received a ticket, now they get a boot.  You have to pay the fine to get the boot removed.  They probably got tired of writing tickets no one paid.  It is clear the fines are not being used for maintenance or upkeep.  Although some of the worst pot holes were patched last year, the lot is rought and has many uneven spots of the type that tripped up Townsend.

That lot would make a great new home for the Tulsa arts high school or TSAS.   :)

I'd accept any use (tattoo parlour or homeless highrise) over surface lot.

I bet the residents of Owen Park would say they have a better location...   ;)

I've heard the PAC doesn't want that lot to go away.  It allows for front door parking for their older patrons.

There is a huge surface lot just east of the PAC that could be developed into structured parking and retail that could serve the PAC, City Haul and visitors to the Dome or the CBD.

Agree totally. 

That lot seems like this huge black hole in between the CBD and Blue Dome.  It's like you have to walk through this open expanse to get to another area with any kind of density of development.

Something like you describe would really tie the CBD together with Blue Dome.

Probably not. Meth Lab, House of ill-repute, Republican Party Headquarters?

That lot would make a great urban park/sculpture garden that could connect the CBD to Blue Dome with development around it by the PAC. 

What could be more urban than a paved over area?

(Running for cover now!)  ;D

Explain the distinction between these please: Meth Lab, House of ill-repute, Republican Party Headquarters

Yes, this would be better than a surface lot.

House of ill-repute=GOP HQ

Oh. I mistakenly took them all for synonyms. My error.

Robby Bell's mom is partying like Hell then?

You sir, owe me:

1.  A new keyboard.
2.  A new monitor...

funny

That is actually two parcels split north to south right in the middle.  The PAC Trust owns both of them.  If you want to hold an event on those lots (ie Dfest [RIP]) then the PAC Trust has to approve.

The lots to the south of the PAC is three parcels, all owned by the same LLC.

It would be great for a parking structure to be there.  It would serve PAC, OTC, Blue Dome and open the lot caddy corner to it for a hotel, again.

Underground parking with a landscaped park for events above would be amazing.  The natural slope of that block could make creating such a garage/park more feasible with entrances on the lower 2nd St side.

I was just trying to think of some examples where you might prefer to have a surface lot.  I also figured the last one would get a few chuckles, which it has.

Haven't gotten on for a while and wow, look what happens! Can't wait to see the new renderings. This project just keeps getting more and more exciting.

Anything new for this?

I'm really impatient for this to start.  Really really impatient. 

It's still happening, albeit slowly.  It's a design-build project with Flintco and Miles+Assoc. Architects, with One Place (Bob Eggleston) as the developer.  They are still working out a lot of issues with the site but should start tearing down the existing buildings along Cheyenne and then doing major site work for the tower in July/August.  

From what I've heard:

Starting this summer
- Cimarex office tower at 2nd & Cheyenne will be 18 stories with several levels of parking above a lobby/retail space
- Northwestern Mutual office tower will be 5 stories at 2nd & Denver with lobby/retail space

Still proposals/no firm start dates yet
- Hotel at 3rd & Cheyenne will be 8 stories with lobby on 3rd, structured parking along Cheyenne
- Mixed-use apartments with ground level retail/restaurant space at 3rd & Denver

Looking forward to seeing updated renderings soon.

Thanks, SXSW.  I'll stop fidgeting.

PS.  Any idea what sort of hotel they're planning?  I seem to remember it was a select service brand (Hilton Garden Inn or somesuch); is that still true?

SKEEEET!

There's a visual

I always thought "SKEEET" was short for "Lets go eat"

I guess it depends on the person.  I'd vote no.

That's probably right, something like that or Hampton Inn.  The nice hotel will be the Aloft in old City Hall.  That should start this summer too.  There will be a lot of activity around the BOK Center by the end of the year..

Walked by the lot this evening and a Flint guy was taping off the parking lot at the NE/c of 2nd and Cheyenne prepping for an official ground breaking on Friday.  He indicated that should be getting after the site immediately after the ceremony. 

Nice!

You mean the NW corner?  The NE corner would be the lot that multi-level garage is on, if I'm not mistaken.

Northwestern Mutual will be the first building to go up from what one of their senior people told me.  He said their building will front Denver and face the BOK Center.  Retail and a nice restaurant on first floor.  They also plan for a gym and dry cleaners on site.

I have fingers crossed this works out.

I had mixed feeling about his final comment, "they are calling it 'One Place' because they want office and residential tenants to only have to visit one place downtown to take care of all their needs."

I love the influx of services, but I hope this doesn't become an island within the ocean that is downtown.

Jeesh, I'm all sorts of turned around - the SW/c of 2nd and Cheyenne or the NE/c of the block.  It's the the small two row parking lot.  That's what was being taped off by the Flint guy.

I can't imagine they're going to start on the Denver front first unless it's on the south end of the block.  I was parked over there and specifically asked him if they were going to do anything on that lot soon and his reply was 'not yet'.  Our company hasn't gotten anything from American Parking telling us to scidaddle.

It won't.  It's just catchy marketing.

Funny you mention the amenities and trying to be somewhat of an island.  When I lived at Center Plaza (now Central Park condos) in '87/'88, they had a dry cleaner drop off, a bar, gym, and I think they may have even had a small convenience store.  It was handy to have those conveniences close at hand, but didn't keep me from venturing out.

If my understanding was correct the Northwestern Mutual building will be located on the northeast corner of Third St and Denver Ave OR the southwest corner of the block they are developing.

My concern isn't in the marketing, it is in a developer who has experience in gated residential development within sprawling suburbs.  Is he trying to develop the same gated concept downtown?

This?

http://goo.gl/maps/7Tki

I was right about Denver, but according to the Tulsa World (http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=16&articleid=20110414_11_A11_CUTLIN211469) they will be at Second St & Denver Ave.

My car's there now (2nd/Denver) and we've not recieved any notice to move.  The site they were taping off was where the 15+ story building is shown in the rendering.  Who knows - but the official ground breaking is supposed to be tomorrow.

From my understanding, the 18 story Cimarex Tower is going on the NE corner of the block, Northwestern Mutual is going on the NW corner (lol), the hotel on the SE corner and the parking garage w/ retail down 2nd. 3rd

I consider American Parking an evil entity.  I have my doubts they'd really care to notify anyone they'll need to make other parking arrangements until they have to.

They won't risk losing income just to be nice.

On topic, I'm excited to see that there's activity on the property.

Does anyone know the actual number of stories and more importantly the height?  Would love to finally be able to put something up on SkyscraperPage forums in the "Highrise Construction" category.  The minimum height has to be 200' to be in the highrise category, then a minimum of about 980' to be in the "Supertall Construction" category.   

SXSW said that it would be 18 stories. Using 10.83 as the average floor height, the tower would be 194.94 feet tall. But since it will have several floors of parking, which will likely be less than that, and I think most new construction has taller office/average use floors, I would bet that this tower will be over 200 feet tall.


But you never really know with this project. It has changed so many times already.

I just met with some folks at Cimarex.  The total number of stories is currently 17 (that's with parking), though they themselves think it could change.  And yes, the project has changed a lot.

I think my strategy will be to wait until they have declared the building complete, and count.

It's a design/build project so they could be working on the foundation and the actual building could still be changing.  The integral parking garage (adding 6+ floors to the base) is a fairly recent change.  They were originally going to arrange to park in the City-owned garage at 2nd & Cheyenne and looked into building a new one on the BOK property to the north but decided they liked having parking in their own building a lot better.  

I would hold off on announcing anything as 'official' with this project until they release renderings, and that may not be until the parking garage is well under construction..

17-18 stories seems about right though from all that I've heard, which includes a lobby/streetfront retail level, parking, office and mechanical floors.  A typical commercial floor to floor height is 15 ft., while it can be much less for parking levels and much more for lobby/retail space and mechanical space.  The Devon Tower has a 20 ft. floor to floor height to accomodate raised flooring.  So let's just say they stick to 15 ft. for the office/mechanical floors/lobby and 10 ft. for the parking levels.  With 1 level of lobby, 6 levels of parking, and 10 levels of office that would be 225 ft. which is a very conservative estimate..

I plan to attend the ceremony tomorrow. If there are plans available, I will try to post them here.

I would assume that they will have renderings tomorrow at the ceremony. I bet Tulsa World will also post them online, if they are available.

Thanks for the info SXSW. I can't wait to see renderings for this project.

See you there!

Anyone know if the parking will be exclusively for the building tenants or will there be an overage for general paid parking?  What about evening parking for BOK events?

I can't imagine they would pass up the extra revenue by not making it available for BOK and other events downtown.

My guess is it will work like the Williams North and South garages... they will have a certain number of spots for tenants/monthly users and a certain number of "public" spots available also for visitors and events.

I went to the groundbreaking today.

There were 20 people with gold shovels who scooped a little dirt all together for the cameras. Then they quit.

At that rate, it is going to take forever to build.

Didn't the BOK Center ground-breaking look the same?

Typical groundbreaking. Hopefully by Monday we'll have some real construction underway. It is extremely exciting that this project has officially begun now.

Did you see any renderings RM?

Slackers.  I'll take them some Gatorade after lunch.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=334&articleid=20110624_334_0_Thhmrm63775
 
Too bad I can't read it.

Happy to oblige, I've not hit my limit on the paywall this month yet.:

"            One Place breaks ground on downtown development

>>Show All Photos
Architect Rachel Zebrowski (right) from Miles and Associates lifts a shovelful of dirt during a groundbreaking for downtown Tulsa's One Place Tower on Friday. MATT BARNARD/ Tulsa World

By BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
Published: 6/24/2011  12:30 PM
Last Modified: 6/24/2011  12:43 PM

To the theme from “2001: A Space Odyssey,” gold shovels dug into a pile of dirt Friday commemorating the start of construction on the $100 million One Place development across from the BOK Center.

“It is with sincere relief that we are finally here today,” One Place LLC principal Hank Pellegrini said of the mixed-use project that was first announced back in 2009.

The project is said to be the largest private downtown development in decades, encompassing the entire square block bounded by Second and Third streets and Denver and Cheyenne avenues.

It will have office space, a hotel, public courtyard, underground parking, and residential, retail and restaurant components.

Flintco will do the construction with Bart Boatright, who was project director over the BOK Center, overseeing the effort.

Demolition of a small office building on the site, as well as utility relocation, will happen in July, he said.

An 18-story office tower on the northeast corner of the lot - to be occupied by Cimarex Energy - will start going up shortly thereafter.

It is set to be completed in the first quarter of 2013, with the ground floor serving as restaurant and retail space.

Later this year, construction will begin on a four-story building that will stretch along the west side of the block.

The top two floors will be occupied by Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, while the bottom two floors will be restaurant and retail areas. It is expected to be done in 2012.

Being involved in One Place, Boatright said, is special because spurring such private development was the goal of the Vision 2025-funded BOK Center.

“This is close to the heart for me,” he said. “This is going to be an extension of that success.”

Mayor Dewey Bartlett said it would have been great to have this development in place earlier this year when the NCAA men’s basketball tournament was being held at the arena.

“It would have knocked them over,” he said. “But the next time we host the tournament - which will happen - this will be a reality.”

One Place will be a driving force for the renaissance occurring in downtown Tulsa, Bartlett said.

Bob Eggleston, who was the construction director for the BOK Center, is a One Place LLC principal along with Pellegrini. Pellegrini is the son-in-law of former Mayor Kathy Taylor and her husband, Bill Lobeck.

The development group is busy fielding queries from other possible tenants, Eggleston said.

Two more major office tenants will be announced within the next few months, he said. Waiting lists have been started for the planned apartments, and retail and restaurants are clamoring to be part of the project.

Eggleston said he’s also been meeting with potential hoteliers.

“It’s all very exciting … the interest that’s out there,” he said. “What’s happening here today is the tipping point.”

The bulk of the square block is being sold to One Place LLC by the Tulsa Development Authority, the city’s real estate arm.

The sale already has been approved for a $1.5 million price tag.

The closing has taken time, however, because the parcels have been split up because of the financing and the environmental studies needed.

The deals on the parcels for the two office buildings should be final within a month, and the rest not long after, TDA attorney Jot Hartley said.

Negotiations continue with the private owner of the strip of land that used to be the site of the razed Towerview Apartments. That acquisition would allow the entire square block to be used for the development.

However, Eggleston said, the project is moving forward with or without the small parcel.

I saw some drawings...Lobby is at 712 ft. above sea level and the building (as it currently stands) will top out at 950 ft. above sea level.  That puts the total height at 238 ft.

Looking forward to seeing new renderings.  Most of what I have seen makes it look more like the OSU/TPD Forensics building with precast and stucco with punched windows.  Curtain wall would look much better IMO.

Thanks, Conan.  Interesting that they said there is a waiting list for the apartments, even without construction starting yet! I'm really excited about this development and agree with the mayor that it would have been nice to have this past March.


Also, with the height being 238 ft (as of now) I think it will somewhat impact the skyline. For comparison, the Mayo Hotel is 253 ft and 18 stories.

It will be apparent from this angle:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3247/2518035899_78648bc214.jpg)

http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/new-building-going-downtown-tulsa/nCzJY/

This link includes a basic layout of the complex. Kinda interesting.

Yeah that's basically what I've envisioned from what I've heard about that block:
- NE corner: 18 story Cimarex Tower
- NW corner: 5 story Northwestern Mutual building w/ streetfront retail space
- SE corner: 10-12 story hotel w/ streetfront retail space
- SW corner: 6-8 story mixed-use apartments w/ streetfront retail space

(http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/img/photos/2011/06/24/One_Place_Site_Massing_t670.jpg?2663c383ae3146e1f47ef3bf52e57c5fcacce698)

I wish we had an architect from Seattle or Portland working on this and not Miles that typically does hospitals in Oklahoma and Texas.  This could be a great mixed-use project but not if it's designed poorly...

I think this will turn out to be an amazing project. I am anxious to see renderings though, but I think it will end up being designed pretty well. Curtain walls would look good, but if there are glass accents on the buildings (other than windows) :D, I think they will look really good.

 I will look forward to them getting started.,Great news.

it's very interesting

thank you for information

Even with boring building design, this project is going to have a huge impact.  With a good design, it will be spectacular. 

Setting aside the BOK Center and Oneok Field, when was the last downtown project of this magnitude?  Even the Williams Technology Building (now City Hall) seemed to have very little ripple effect - most likely because by the time it was done, the whole enterprise was heading down the tubes.

Well to be fair to my ex-colleagues, the Williams Communication/WilTel business did just fine once it got out of bankruptcy in 2002.  In fact, we had 3+ years of very solid growth and were arguably the best run 2nd-tier telecom carrier out there.

That's why we were such an obvious merger target for Level 3.  There are still several hundred former WilTel (now Level 3) employees in that building.

But to the point, I don't think OTC could have had this kind of "ripple effect" because there was no other development around it to speak of.  It didn't have the momentum of a new big downtown arena, baseball stadium and burgeoning entertainment districts.  People's collective attitude about downtown were totally different.

And - it wasn't built to spur development, per se... it was built out of necessity, really.  

The BOK Tower was near capacity around 2000, as Williams was huge, and Williams Communications was rapidly growing.  At the time, we had WCG people spread around about 6 or 7 different buildings downtown, because (IIRC) we only had like 1 or 2 floors in the tower.  

All good points.  I did not mean to imply that OTC was intended as a larger development, just that it was the largest private buidling in downtown in quite some time, but didn't get much attention when it opened or change the neighborhood much.  Some of that had to do with the type of development it was and some of it had do with WCG struggling by the time it opened.  Had the OTC been full or stayed full, it migiht have had a bigger impact on the area.  I do think it signaled that the more active part of downtown was/is shifting northeast towards the Blue Dome, even during the day time.

This project will help rebalance downtown from the BOK Center all along 2nd through the Blue Dome.

Agreed.

One thing that it did do was get rid of a surface parking lot.

There was a huge one right where that building currently sits.

 :)

With Williams growing again, and BOK growing (now one of the largest regional banks) as well as BOK Tower tenants like Newfield Exploration and Magellan Midstream, any possibility that one leaves and eithers moves to another tower or builds a new one?  What is the current vacancy rate?  Seems like First Place could be a potential location for one of those (or better another company all together) once Cimarex moves several hundred employees to 2nd & Cheyenne..

  I think Class A vacancy rates are remarkably low, about 7%  hence the new tower.  The vacancy rates for Class B and C are much higher though.

I don't know the exact vacancy rate, but my unscientific anecdotal observations tell me that the building doesn't feel near as full as it did back in, say, early 2001 before Williams Communications moved into the OTC.  The tower really felt like it was bursting at the seams back then.  (For one thing, I had to park about 5 blocks away because all of the other lots and garages were full.)

But it has certainly picked up in the past few years.  I know that Williams alone has added 300+ employees in Tulsa over the last 5-6 years.  Our total employment in Tulsa is now a shade over 1,300.

In terms of tenants moving, I don't know.  I doubt Williams would ever move since... hey... we own the building.  :)  And BOK isn't probably going to leave the building that bears their name.

So for those other guys... I suppose it's possible if they significantly grow.  Plus, if Williams and BOK continue to grow, those people have to go somewhere.  So down the line I could see maybe some tenants moving if it gets to the point where Williams and BOK take up so much space in the tower that the other tenants don't have room to grow.

I could see BOK building a new tower.  Banks, especially ones the size of BOK, have the resources.  Look at most new office tower construction in mid-sized cities, all built by banks.  Not saying we'll see a new tower anytime soon but it's definitely a possibility with BOK as they don't own One Williams Center but rather just lease the naming rights..  

That's been an odd relationship for years.  At one point, I believe BOK had the mortgage on the tower, then wound up foreclosing on it.

Someone refresh my memory please, but seems like all that went down back in the early '00's when they were having all sorts of financial difficulties with Williams and WilTel.

What's odd about it?

BOK and Williams have been the two constants in the tower since it was built.  In fact, BOK actually moved into the tower before Williams did, as the bank and lower floors were completed in late 1976.  Williams moved in during the first part of 1977.


Not that I know of... you may be thinking of some of Williams' other real estate... like the two black "Williams towers" west of the Hyatt? 

Those were built by Williams real estate in the early 1980s, but then divested around the mid-1990s when Williams decided it didn't want to be a real estate company.   :)

But either way, I don't think it had anything to do with the liquidity crisis the company faced in mid-2002.

Thanks for the refresh on that, Jeff. 

Are they moving dirt yet?

I don't think so.

I drive past that lot on my way to work every day, and I haven't noticed any movement since the "ground breaking."  (Although I noticed the other day that the dirt from the ground breaking is still there..)

With the delays in "actually" breaking ground and release of final elevations, talk of two more substantial tennants, wouldn't it be awesome if this somehow turns out to be a major tower. (Putting T-Town back on top as tallest, not only in Ok but in several states.)  Maybe they're waiting on Devon tower to top off, so they can't add a floor or spire or something. It's fun to dream about that happening though.  :)

Who are the new substantial tenants?

The developers have not said who yet, only that they will exist within the development.

There will be a lot of demolition and site utility work before you start seeing the base foundation poured and the structure start to rise.  The existing buildings on the site facing Cheyenne (where Flintco/Manhattan had their BOK Center field offices) will be torn down soon and then other activities can start.

I have no clue.  But I have seen it mentioned in articles posted in this very thread once or twice, that other tennants are lined up.

The development group is busy fielding queries from other possible tenants, Eggleston said.

Two more major office tenants will be announced within the next few months, he said. Waiting lists have been started for the planned apartments, and retail and restaurants are clamoring to be part of the project.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=334&articleid=20110624_334_0_Thhmrm63775

I don't know if you guys saw it, but The Journal Record has an article today about Class A office space in Tulsa.

You have to be a subscriber to read the full story, but the apropos nuggets include:

• Downtown Tulsa/CBD now holds a 92-percent occupancy rate on Class A space.  At the end of 2007, that rate was 76%.
• The CBD now leads the Tulsa metro in that category for the first time in more than 10 years. (The previous leader was the south Yale corridor around Warren Place, etc.)
• The BOK Tower/One Williams Center currently has an occupancy rate of 94%, and that may soon be 99%.

Looks like demand is there for a new High Rise!! I hope taller then 18 stories. I think a 40 story building would look awesome there!!

Maybe 851 feet tall...

Wouldn't the folk in OKC have a cow.  But I would rather us get 10 more, pedestrian friendly, 8 story buildings with ground floor retail than one tall building. We have had the height advantage for ages,,, no big deal.  Would rather us go for superb quality and style.  And since they are the capital and states largest city, its only appropriate that they can at least brag that they have that ONE tall tall building.  And we still aren't so shabby having the states second tallest,,, oh and we also have the third tallest,,, oh and we also have the fourth tallest,,, oh and we also have the fith tallest,,, oh, and btw, we are still MUCH better lookin lol  8)

Still hearing 18 stories at 238 ft.  It will still impact the skyline from most angles and be visible from the money shot view from the Pedestrian Bridge.

I do think we will see one of the tenants at the BOK Tower move into Cimarex' vacated Class A space in First Place or build a new tower.  BOK would be the most logical to build a new signature building downtown if they keep growing and avoid getting bought up by a larger bank.  Not only are they the largest bank in Oklahoma but also are one of the larger regional banks in the country with banks in Texas, Colorado, Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Arizona, etc.

BOk won't sell until Mr Kaiser decides he wants to sell.  Between his holdings and his top executives they own enough to clearly dictate the direction the bank goes.

What's going on at 210 S Cheyenne Ave (just east of the One Place Site)? I know this was proposed to be a sports bar at one point. The reason I ask is that there is a permit on the door and a dumpster in 2nd St.

I don't know... I'd be very surprised if they ever moved.

It's an expensive proposition to move an entire headquarters... BOK has been one of two anchor tenants in the tower since it opened and they own long-term naming rights on the building.

Not saying it will never happen --- I would just be very surprised if it did.

I don't think anybody suggested either of the headline tenants may move.. 
Other companies besides BOK and Williams occupy that space..  Magellan, Newfield, etc.
You've got the Williams logo, so you already knew that.

And it begins...

http://www.newson6.com/story/15248899/demoliton-work-to-make-way-for-tulsas-one-place-tower

From one of my Facebook friends

Good stuff.  Let's get that thing built, stat!

Cool. Can't wait to see the final product.

It's starting!!
The construction site of One Place-Phase II on Thursday. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

By BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
Published: 9/22/2011  10:44 AM
Last Modified: 9/22/2011  10:44 AM


Leaders of the $100 million One Place development across from the BOK Center took Thursday morning's rain as a good omen as they broke ground on the second phase.

"Well, they say rain is good on wedding days," One Place LLC principal Hank Pellegrini quipped. "So maybe with the mayor here he can oversee a marriage of landlord and tenant."

The tenant Pellegrini referred to is Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, which will occupy two floors of a new five-story building east of Denver Avenue between Second and Third streets.

The building also will have restaurants and retail.

This was the second groundbreaking for One Place, which is planned to encompass the entire square block.

In June, work was begun on the 18-story One Place Tower, which will house Cimarex Energy and have commercial space.

Future third and fourth phases will include a hotel, residential and public courtyard components. The development will have multiple levels of underground parking.

The Northwestern Mutual building will be done by August 2012, while the tower will be completed in early 2013.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20110922_11_0_Leader471568

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20110922_11_0_Leader471568

It's great to see dirt being moved at this site.  One less large surface parking lot in downtown.

Yup.  Now us Southies are going to be even more vexed.

There is a nice rendering of the NW Mutual building on the TW site but I can't copy/paste the link.  It will be five stories with retail/restaurant space fronting Denver and 2nd.  There is also retail space fronting 2nd in the Cimarex Tower with the lobby's main entrance at 2nd & Cheyenne; the entrance to the 7 level parking garage is off Cheyenne.  The two office buildings will share walls and connect to each other so 2nd will have an uninterrupted street wall.  The 2nd St streetscape will be extended in this area.

The second phase of construction will begin next summer when they start the mixed-use building at 3rd & Denver and the hotel at 3rd & Cheyenne.  There will be an interior courtyard, from what I've heard, with a pool that will be shared between the apartments and hotel.  Restaurant space at the corner of 3rd & Denver.  Large hotel lobby and coffee shop likely at the corner of 3rd & Cheyenne.

Awesome project for downtown.  That and the Aloft will really improve the area around the BOK Center.

Was the Northwest Mutual buidling always going to be 5 stories?  For some reason, I thought it was originally going to be 4.  Either way, I agree the rendering looks good and will make for a dramatic improvement to area.

Here is the rendering.  Cimarex is to the east and the mixed-use residential is to the south.  As far as I know they haven't released any new renderings for the Cimarex Tower yet.  I've been told by a reliable source that it will be 230 ft. tall, nearly the same height as the Mayo Hotel. 

(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6165/6176135288_c681866c39_b.jpg)

I really like that rendering, but I really want to know what that tower will look like.

Nice render. Clean contemporary lines.  Hoping there are more ground level, fenestration/doors, though versus just one main entrance.  Especially if they are saying its going to be mixed use retail on the ground level.  Makes for a more lively streetscape.

The design is "OK", was expecting something more urban, they could have done better. Looks like something from the early 80's. Check out new renderings:

(http://www.milesassociates.com/projectImages/37-1.jpg)

http://www.milesassociates.com/projects-details.aspx?projectid=37&ontheboards=1

I don't think it's bad but more glass would make it look more contemporary.  It is too bad the NW Mutual building isn't taller to match the Cimarex Tower's parking garage.  I'm interested to see what the mixed-use apartments and hotel (the next two phases) will look like along 3rd..

Looks like a Hospital

Does the 5-story parking garage limit what they can do, stylistically?

Also, this appears to show no street entrances along the entire length of 3rd, although there are some windows.  Does the slope of 3rd St. make it difficult to have retail fronting this area?  

Miles + Associates designs a lot of hospitals.  Something like Children's Hospital in OKC looks better though IMO because of the extensive use of curtain walls.  Definitely glad this isn't a signature skyscraper but more of a filler building that will house a growing energy company (who could've moved out of downtown).

I think the area along 2nd will be the lobby with the main entrance at the corner and "retail" space along Cheyenne.  The majority of the "retail" space in this development will likely be along 3rd and along Denver.  A friend in OKC was telling me recently that Mickey Mantles steakhouse (in Bricktown) is looking at possibly opening a second location at One Place.  I don't know if it would be in the office part or in the mixed-use/hotel..

The remainder of the slides make the building look more attractive.

Reminds me of St Johns.

(http://kotv.images.worldnow.com/images/13975677_BG5.jpg)

^Yep, teeny windows.

Just barely, if at all. +1 on the similarities between this building and hospitals. Also, let's talk about the wall lining Second St. some more... Some windows but no entrances? That entire block now has the grand possibility of becoming just like the rest of Second Street all the way to the Blue Dome: barren, with lots of blank concrete walls and the occasional parking garage entrance. If we are going to get serious about connecting all our disparate downtown districts, we need Second Street to be more than just a concrete wall. It needs to be engaging and encourage to pedestrians to keep walking instead of running to their cars.

This building has an opportunity to create a more lively, pedestrian-friendly Second Street. Let's not squander the chance we have.

I think 3rd is supposed to be more of a connector between the convention center/BOK Center and Blue Dome.  From what I've heard about One Place the primary retail frontages will be along Denver and 3rd St where the hotel and mixed-use will be.  I say concentrate on one corridor (3rd) instead of spreading things too thin with 2nd as well.  I do think the 2nd St streetscape should be extended west to Denver.

I agree. I'm also a person who thinks that buildings look a lot better in person than in renderings. You just can't get the real feel of a building from a rendering. Although, I do wish the building was much more glass and much less concrete, stucco, mock stucco, or whatever that stuff is.

It's precast concrete (panels).

nitpick: 
major - adj:
     a : notable or conspicuous in effect or scope : considerable <a major improvement>
     b : prominent or significant in size, amount, or degree <earned some major cash>
budget - noun:  the amount of money that is available for, required for, or assigned to a particular purpose

so...  you probably meant to say " Looks like a tower on a small/tight budget."

nitpick: SOP for a lot of Tulsan's.

  Well, does look like second street from the Blue Dome area to the Arena is officially a dead zone per the pedestrian.  But it is true that you can't have every street be a "best" street for you then run the risk of diluting things to the point that you end up with no street being excellent.  I guess we have to hope that Third Street focuses on becoming a good pedestrian friendly street.  However, there should be at least some limit to how "non-pedestrian friendly" a building along a public sidewalk can be. That ground level, north facing side is an absolute, depressing, affront.   NOBODY is going to ever be able to walk past that without feeling like they either need a shot of prozac or need to book an appointment with a good therapist afterwards.  

You know, I have often proposed that we zone some downtown streets to be our "A" top notch pedestrian friendly streets, and perhaps zone some streets to be, well, back alleys.  But some people then argue that this will go against the property owners rights and limit what they can do.  Well, isn't what this property owner has done, and others up and down this strip, haven't they with this unsightly ground level design also infringed on their neighbors property and what they can now do?  Whoever owns that property facing that north wall has now got a whole lot of ugly staring them right in the face.  This has in effect "randomly" and possibly, unexpectedly limited their property and what they can now do with it.  You can't put anything "fancy" along there thats for sure.  Would suck if you wanted to have ground floor retail facing that,,, a nice hotel, not gonna want that right out your front entrance.  If the street were zoned to be what it is, then at least the owner, or next owner, would know what he was getting, could plan for it, and not be leaving it purely up to chance and whim.  In this instance, not too much harm done, in that it simply extends our "depressingly ugly district, DUD for short" why not call it a district lol, but I am not the one who owns the property opposite so can't say for sure.      

So glad that the Northwest Mutual building looks like it will be a decent pedestrian friendly one.

As per the rest of this new building design wise,,, yawn.  Only saving grace I can imagine is that perhaps it will have some nice exterior materials?  But yes, glad we are getting the new building regardless ,and that a company is staying downtown.  Also, we can hope that the hotel/residential aspect of this development, if and when that part happens, will be something worth looking at.

I'll repeat what's already been said.
Looks like a hospital.
Hopefully the renderings aren't doing it justice.

And.... why is this development being called Place One?
The first two buildings seem to share nothing in common. (either functionally or stylistically)

Hey, at least it’s a building where an empty parking lot used to be, too bad its not an iconic/contributing building to add to our skyline. I'll take mediocre since its forward momentum.

We sure did downgrade from this to that though.

(http://www.tulsaworld.com/articleimages/2010/20100915_OnePlace0915.jpg)

(http://www.milesassociates.com/projectImages/37-1.jpg)

(http://www.milesassociates.com/projectImages/37-2.jpg)

from that angle, yeah, it's off a bit.

I've said it before, be wary of men with crayons....

Yeah from that angle it would look much better if the NW Mutual building was the same height as the parking garage so you don't see two levels of blank concrete above.  Or add openings to match the 5th and 6th levels of the east elevation of the parking garage.

That is the key angle as it is the view from the BOK Center entrance.  

Which is something I absolutely do not get.

2nd Street is home to the main convention/event hotel downtown (Hyatt), the biggest office building/complex (BOK Tower/Williams Center/City Hall/OTC), the PAC, and really is the most direct connector between BOK and Blue Dome.

Heck, after any event at the BOK you can watch thousands of people stream east down 2nd Street.

It's the route that people naturally want to take... and yet we're going to try and force people down 3rd Street?  How very typical.

since we are bringing up "nitpick", I think 2nd is a waste of road.  The coolest thing about it is that it ends at the BOK (I mean it is a pretty neat view when you are on the street).  Unfortunately it is a one way in the opposite direction.  

The five stories of parking garage really seem to limit how this building can look.  Stacking stylish glass sky scraper on top of a concret garage might be even more off putting than the current design.  Was locating the parking underground beneath the building simply not feasible due to soil/other issues or was it simply one of cost?

I have to agree on the 2nd v. 3rd st. issue.  I park in the garage next to the Hyatt, so I use it for all BOK events and there are always crowds walking on 2nd between the BOK and Blue Dome and Hyatt before and after events.

While I think 3rd should remain the "A" street since it's one of the few thru streets in downtown and has existing and future retail/restaurants, extending the 2nd St streetscape (which is pretty nice with the trees and planters in the area by City Hall and the Williams Tower) further west to Denver would make a big impact.  

I have heard the lot to the south of the tower could eventually be the new federal building.  That would be another blank wall along 2nd.  OKC's is a pretty nice design but not pedestrian-friendly (for obvious reasons)..
(http://archives.hud.gov/images/focus/pic-focw-2004-03-22c-lg.jpg)

That is as an uninspiring piece of architecture as I have ever seen.

FYI. . . Oxblue (http://oxblue.com/pro/open/oneplacetower) has a construction webcam, so you can keep abreast of this development.

Appreciate the heads up.

What's the big roll of duct tape across the street?  Is that what they are using to construct the new tower?

**ducking for cover**

In the same manner that OneOk field was, this construction project has a webcam that will track progress on it.  Pretty neat.

http://oxblue.com/pro/open/oneplacetower

Damn that's an ugly building. Maybe they thought they were in OKC?

Even more "ironically tragic" is that OKC got Devon tower which is beautiful.  The world has gone topsy turvy lol.  Unfortunately this kind of thing is going to continue unless Tulsa stops piddling around content with just getting by and existing, and decides it wants to work hard and push itself to become something great again.  Otherwise with at best our usual mediocre forward momentum we tend to stand perilously at the edge of not just holding the line, but of sliding back.  Occasionally we do something, like Vision 2025, but then we seem to go back to sleep thinking everything will be fine.  But everything is not fine and apparently not fixing itself on its own.  We must remain diligent in our efforts to succeed and compete as a city.   Whatever happened to our push to become a materials science hub and our Vision 2025 investment to help jump start that at OSU Tulsa? ( noticed that the Tulsa campus enrollment is up double the rate of what the Stillwater campus is, too bad the investment isn't any where near comparable)      

Well stated Floyd, I agree with you. Is a building better than an empty parking lot? Is momentum better than stagnation? Is increasing density/downtown population better than a decaying core? I'm not going to complain about how plain this building is, I'm happy its going up: It will beget other new construction projects and hopefully they will be more attractive. What it lacks in beauty it will make up for in seeding new projects.

And when it reaches the end of it's useful life, no one will feel guilty about tearing it down to put up something nice.

I think the design is alright.  Not exceptional but not ugly either, IMO.  It's Post Modern (like a lot of Miles' work) and many don't appreciate that rather minimal style. 

I suspect stacking a building on top of an above ground parking garage limits the options design wise.  While I would prefer something with more "wow", I'm more disappointed in the lack of retail/connectivity on the side fronting 2nd St.  Earlier in this thread there was discussion about whether 3rd St. should be the focus, etc.  The problem is, this building will not front 3rd - it only covers half the block between 2nd and 3rd.  This is way better than the surface lot it replaces, but I think it will become a "what could have been" in future years.

I see elements of Michael Graves' Portland Building, which is a widely known example of Post Modernism.  But you're right it's more modern than post-modern because of the apparent lack of ornamentation and utilitarian style.

Another view..some trees will improve the 2nd St streetscape
(http://milesassociates.com/projectImages/37-3USE.jpg)

Looking at this picture the first thing that pops into my head is "Why does Tulsa not widen the sidewalks?" Do they really need a dozen lanes of traffic in every direction. jk

I for one think the building is fine. Is it what I would do? No. But that's the beauty of living in America. If you want to build let's say the Price Tower like we have here in Bartlesville, go for it. If you own the land and get the permits, it's all up to you. Although this building has all kinds of historical significance, it is one of the most unusable spaces I have ever witnessed in my life and somewhat unusual to look at. But hey, it is what it is. Mr Price wanted a show stopper, Mr. Price got one.

Cimerex needs office space and parking for their employees. What do they do? The build an office building downtown (where everyone would like), with structured parking (which everyone seems to want). So what's the big freaking deal? Did they want a show stopper, no. Are they interested in remaining a going concern, obviously or we would see a building far more ornate and expensive.

I think part of it was that we were indeed hoping for a little more of a show stopper as this building will be one of the first things people see when exiting our "show stopper" arena. That prime location along with the fact that we have all been watching Devon's show stopper tower go up in OKC, added up to many a hope of seeing more finess in the design.  

 And good design doesn't require being ornate, or even that expensive.  Clean, elegant simplicity can be quite stunning.   Having said that, my concerns are more oriented to the street/pedestrian level.  The smaller building nearer the arena and in front of the taller office building could be quite nice with the right fenestrations. And from that angle will act as a de-facto "podium" for the tower behind it.  Whats above isn't really that important.  I often see fantastic looking towers that people ooh and aah over in images seen at a distance, but then when I look at how the tower meets the pedestrian, it's sometimes a horrible affront.  When you work, shop, and live downtown, the sidewalks, what your walking past and along, are important. The second street side of this building is ghastly in that respect. Though one can argue that 2nd street is piece by piece being relegated to being a pedestrian no-go zone. Basically 2nd st. in that part of downtown is becoming, well already is, nothing more than a large alley, and thus any practical concern at this point for having a connected downtown for the pedestrian must move to 3rd street.  Any real tragedy would be if your the property owner across the street and you had hopes for something that would do well with good pedestrian traffic.  That would not be likely to happen now.  

  A similarly "dead for the pedestrian" strip is just North of Holy Family Cathedral where the tall white building and its parking garage are. A great pedestrian strip is down Boston Ave and along 5th street.  Both of which I hope will continue to get better pedestrian wise.  But what one would hope to see are some ways to make "loops" around downtown.  You want to be able to start in one area then be able to go down streets that are obviously pedestrian friendly, enjoyable streets to walk down, and be able to make a loop around the block or several blocks and then get back to where you started.  You don't want to constantly have to backtrack down the same street once you hit a boring strip (makes for a very small feeling and lame downtown experience when that happens). And you want to be able to enjoyably walk from one "district" to another as well.  

  When I have been in other cities, even the biggest and greatest pedestrian friendly cities, there are indeed streets you look down and can obviously see are dead and without a lot of activity.  You naturally travel down the pedestrian friendly streets, leading in the general direction of where you want to go, that have lots of activity on them.  Lots of shops and stores, buildings with good street level "personality", etc.  It's great for people, and great of course for the businesses that rely on the pedestrians to visit them.  

 What I worry about with our downtown as it grows and wants to become an enjoyable, liveable, walkable area, is that we already have a profusion of streets, or sections of streets, that are not going to be places people will want to walk down.  All it will take is one or two structures in the wrong place to cut off yet another area from another, and possibly precluding any enjoyable "loop" walk, or enjoyable walk from one district to another.  You can lose your pedestrian friendly, critical mass, and keep yourself a more car oriented downtown and city.  A downtown that is alive only during lunch, or during an event, or on a Saturday night, etc. and a downtown that will not ever be able to have efficient, cost effective transit.  Not a future I would want for Tulsa.  We still have good bones that can be built on, but due to past design mistakes, we are understandably wary and unnerved when we see yet another non-pedestrian friendly building going in, even if its along a strip that is at this point likely to not be pedestrian friendly one anyway.  

Unfortunately, from this rendering it looks lke the 15 story tower is turning its back on the BOK Center (at the street level) when it could be part of the action along 2nd street.  I thought the intent of Place One was to take advantage of the BOK Center, not ignore it.  Again, this is better than the surface lot/apts. it's replacing, but is a missed opportunity to make something great instead of just good with a few better thought out details and connectivity at the street level.

I think when the other elements of the project come along, they will take better advantage of the view.  Wait for the condos and hotel to come along.

Hello Empire State Building. From the street, it looks terribly boring, IMO. I missed it the first time I went looking for it. Seriously, it's that boring down there, at least until you walk in the lobby.

I do notice that any city that is considered to have a "good" downtown, every building has multiple uses. There is always a ground level commercial use. I will agree that in Oklahoma we still build everything with a single use in mind. For example the Cimerex tower looks like it will be strictly an office tower (although I recall hearing something about a restaurant). Virtually every new residential project in downtown OKC is 100% residential.

I understand that "mixed-use" is the big buzz word and I hate to be cliche but it works every time. If developers would provide space that is easily sub-dividable it would work. Smaller spaces in particular would be extremely critical to getting things rolling. While everyone likes a big flashy new store, it is the volume of options in a small space that will draw people in. People don't want to walk several miles to only go to a handful of places. Why else do people go to malls and Utica Square and such. They park once and walk (but to many different options in a relatively small space). People will park there cars if given a reason, you just can't tell them to. I would if I could now, but it just isn't an option (if I would like to continue working anyways).

I understand in Fort Worth's Near Southside neighborhood they have some sort of form based code that requires all new commercial construction in neighborhood areas to include a residential component. It has worked pretty well so far in that each new business adds several new residences/potential customers. It does not require the opposite for primarily residential in that it is already a residential area. Could we not do the reverse and require that all new construction in downtown include some sort of ground level commercial space? Are rents so low that no builders find this worthwhile to include?

I don't think it would be worthwhile to do that all over downtown ( it's the... If you try to make all streets "A" top notch streets, none of them will be, rule)  But in some cities they do require that on certain streets or areas.  I believe Denver has designated "A" mixed use/pedestrian friendly streets and "B" car oriented, parking lots, drive thru, alleyway/loading and unloading, etc. streets.  

Agreed.  It seems that we are waiting for our problems to be solve one entire city block at a time.  Consider any of the open lots in downtown.  Odds are that it was initally a group of smaller separately owned parcells that had development on them.  Parking lots were built to serve one of them, then anotherr, until the final properties were so devalued that parking makes more sense and you end up with a solid city block demolished that is consolidated into one parcel.  If one know wanted to develope it, it is a MUCH larger matter as you have to buy the whole block.  Take a look at manhattan's Union Square.  I don't know how to post images on this damned site so you are going to have to google streetview it.  Notice how narrow each of the buildings is.  Now compare that to something like the ONG building.  Looks similar, huh?  I really wish that lot holders would subdivied their land so that smaller developers (if properly motivated) could make a move on a property.  Not neccisarily grandiose, but I would rather see a vacant lot suddenly have a 4 or 6-square apartment building on the corner of it that it didn't before.

The differnce in rent between residential and commercial is huge.  $1/sf for res; 12-15 for commercial.

Exciting day on the job site.
They're erecting the tower crane.
They're on the verge of raising a very large mobile crane to do so (currently laying down... longer than a city block and blocking Cheyenne).

visible, but hard to see http://oxblue.com/pro/open/oneplacetower.

Yep in the next few months this thing will go vertical in a big way. 

And there are three leasable spaces on the first level: 2 along 2nd and 1 on Cheyenne.  The main entrance and lobby are at the corner of 2nd & Cheyenne.  The parking garage is only accessed via Cheyenne.

Regarding the 2nd St streetcape...there is a plan funded by the Kaiser Foundation to install a streetscape with larger sidewalks and trees along 2nd from Denver to Elgin.  I would assume it would happen after the construction is completed and also in conjunction with the GKFF-funded streetscape projects taking place in Brady.

Trees would do a lot to break up the concrete canyon feel of 2nd St.

Trees, lights, wider stretches of cement, etc. nobody is going to want to walk down that street to get to say the Blue Dome or Brady Arts district.  I would save the money and use it to further improve a street that people will walk down.   People downtown will naturally go where the interest and activity is, not where there happen to be trees lining blank walls, they will avoid those areas.  And surely we don't want people going down those kinds of streets anyway.  What kind of impression is that for a city compared to ones where you can walk down lively, engaging streets?

I'd like to see the rendering first; GK might surprise us.

The crane is now up. Very exciting to see!

  Now one thing we could do, along with lights and trees, to make that street a more interesting and enjoyable walk would be to have different artists do paintings, wall sculptures and mosaics on those blank walls all along the way.  Not HUGE murals or only huge murals that you have to stand far off to fully enjoy, but have lots and lots of small 5 feet x 5 feet to say 10 feet x 10 feet paintings, wall sculptures and mosaics all along the way that you can enjoy as you walk past each one.  Ideally you would have some that can be more permanent, and also some that could be painted over from time to time keeping things fresh.  I have actually seen this done in some cities to nice effect.  

 If we want to make it so that people will be more likely to walk from the Arena to say the Brady and Blue Dome, turn those blank walls along that street into a lively, colorful and engaging outdoor art gallery.

  If most of my free time wasn't taken up with the Tulsa Art Deco Museum I would organize it myself.  But show me a wall and get me permission and I will volunteer to do the first painting myself.  And of course if someone can convince GK or someone to pay me for a few days or a week of my time each year to get approvals, find artists, etc. to add more art, I will of course be happy to be the one who organizes it lol.  But then again, If the plan is to truly have this corridor be one that the city wants people to walk down, this might be a project that the city arts commission should take on.

Love this idea.

Was up... They have removed the boom.  Something about a bad seal in the rotaty part

???

(http://www.irrationalsigns.com/road-signs/animal637.jpg)

Wow..I'm speechless.

As of 1:20 this afternoon the crane is up per the OxBlue camera.

edit:  My bad, I'm wrong.

Sorry, it's the closest I could get to "Bad Townsend" on Google images.  Yes I realize it's 'Townshend'

(http://vassifer.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341c18b253ef0120a8bad9fb970b-500wi)

We share the same woodpile.  Long story.  

You could've found one of him after his "research" arrest.

Better?

(http://ll-media.tmz.com/2010/01/28/0128_peter_blandford-1.jpg)

There it is

I had no idea GKFF was doing a streetscape project outside of what they had planned in the Brady. What other streets will they be doing other than 2nd?

Here is their plan: http://swacdn.s3.amazonaws.com/1/d40c8c3e_bradyartsdistrictstreetscape.pdf (http://swacdn.s3.amazonaws.com/1/d40c8c3e_bradyartsdistrictstreetscape.pdf)

Not sure what the timeline for completion is though. 

Taken from the Boulder parking garage on 1/11/12...lots of activity onsite:
(http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o600/plexis22/cimarex.jpg)

I have no knowledge of building but I was wondering, does that look like it matches up with the parking garage design?

(http://www.milesassociates.com/projectImages/37-1.jpg)

I thought the parking garage was levels 2-5 or 6ish. This would likely be the lobby.

Did anyone know they were also starting on the building that will face the BOK at Denver? I noticed Saturday that five floors of steel are up.

I've been watching it go up on the OxBlue construction camera (http://www.oxblue.com/pro/open/oneplacetower). I was in town yesterday and got some pics of a lot of the downtown projects. I'll post them later tonight.

Yep, they said that that building would be done before the taller office tower.

I walked by on Monday and while when you first asked this question it looked entirely different from the rendering, the view from 2nd is now taking shape and beginning to look like the rendering.

Looking at the OxBlue camera I see that the outer wall is considerably closer to Cheyenne.

It seemed to be the distance depicted when I walked by.

Sorry, I meant from the picture I'd previously posted.  In other words, I was looking at the inner walls.  I was wrong.

I just checked the construction cam for the first time in a long time, and wow! This project is really moving quickly and will be pretty visible very soon.

Everytime I check the construction camera it makes me wish there was some parking around the BOK Center  ;)

Lower section starting to resemble the rendering.  Taken yesterday from the parking garage and 2nd and Cheyenne.

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZTsa6xuXFwI/T2QDg7kkxgI/AAAAAAAACXQ/LL-d7bjrXUk/s1527/2012-03-16_18-50-21_476.jpg)

Pretty amazing at how fast the steel for the NW Mutual building went up.  That building is going to totally change Denver Ave in my opinion.

Isn't there a hotel slated to be part of the southern half of that block?

Yes.  They haven't announced the size or the brand, but rumor has it that it's either a Hilton or Marriott product and will be limited service. 

Announcement of a new tenant in Northwestern Building (from the Tulsa Metro Chamber):

OnePlace development announces new tenant
One of the fastest growing private companies in the nation, Check 6, announced plans today to move its financial headquarters offices to the OnePlace development in downtown Tulsa. The operational efficiency and safety training company was recently named the 100th Fastest Growing Company in America by Inc. Magazine.

Check 6 will occupy approximately 10,000 square feet of the third floor in the five-story Northwestern Building. The OnePlace development also "topped off" the Northwestern Building today by placing the final steel beam on the second phase of the development.

"We are very excited to congratulate OnePlace on this milestone and to welcome a wonderful new addition to our downtown business community," said Delise Tomlinson, executive director of downtown development for the Tulsa Metro Chamber. "The commitment of the developers and tenants of OnePlace and of the many people across diverse sectors who are investing in downtown's future is evidence of a building momentum in Tulsa's urban core and is a positive sign of growth for the entire Tulsa region."

Moving in from Jenks, I see.

That's gonna leave a mark...

I though nw mutual already had snagged the whole building.  Anyhoo...

I drove there today (I drive through downtown alot looking at projects) and I found the best angle on this site at least for now.  If you stand on the bok center sidewalk and look toward 320 s Boston with the new tower in the foreground it is VERY exciting.  I can't wait till the hotel and condos Portion of this project gets under way.

I think NW Mutual has top 2 floors.  1st and 2nd floor are for retail.  3rd floor was all the office space that remained available.  I suspect we will hear some announcement(s) on the retail space in the near future.

I also noticed today they had their little "topping off" ceremony or whatever on the NW Mutual building.

(The Christmas tree looking tree is on top.)

It's crazy that I remember when they did this with the BOK Center.  Time flies.

 :o

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

In my crystal ball I see the restaurant owners from out of state saying "the Oklahoma ABLE commission said what now?".

Good article.

Can you remind us of the rumored restaurants?

This strikes me as a convenient excuse to get their deadline extended.  It seems that if they were ready to build the other phases, they could and would find a way to stage building materials.  Major buildings are constructed on far more constricted sites all the time.

Oh you'll just Davas them.

Davas-ing

As I understand it, Phases 1&2 will be at around 100% occupancy at opening so it's not a financial issue.

The success of the office portion of the development tells us absolutely nothing about the financing of the hotel and residential portion.

Yeah it pretty much tells us banks would be more agreeable to lend them money. While I agree it is an excuse to spread out the cost of development is that such a bad thing? I could give them the opportunity to make better deals for a better project, seems everyone wins no matter the time line.

As much as it pains my in my personal life, (measured) patience really does pay off on this sort of project.  Recall that the tower was initally going to be shorter.  As painful as it was to wait and wait and wait for this project to get started, the the extra floors on the tower are pretty sweet.  Eventually there will be a completed project on this block.

It MAY make a bank marginally more agreeable to talk to them about lending more money.  That's about it.  But that is a long way from telling us that there are not any financing issues.  

Ruth's Chris, but that rumor's pretty old at this point and I'm not local anymore to confirm it.   

I'm sorry to see that the recent discussion on Tulsa's largest private construction project in over a decade has devolved to the same types of complaining seen in the Tulsa World's comment section.

"We want better roads!" ...road construction begins... "I hate all this construction!!"

"We need downtown developers!" ...developer steps up... "You're only building this in PHASES?! BLASPHEMOUS!"

Give it a rest. They're building an 18-story tower and a 5-story building at the same time, with more to come. The entire block doesn't have to be under construction at the same time for progress to occur... and you can blame TDA for stalling this project for so long in the first place. That block has already seen more substantial development than has happened anywhere near the BOK Center so far.

It's evident that Tulsans are afflicted with the same short-term orientation and obsession with immediate gratification as the rest of the country. And the project has only been under construction for what, less than a year?

I think the argument that staging all the materials at on off-site location in or near downtown would add signficant expense to the project is legitimate.  Currently, they own the two adjacent lots where materials are shipped.  If they can no longer use those lots for that purpose, then they will have to lease additional space somewhere downtown and incur additional costs in moving the materials as needed from the staging area to the work site.

I also agree that patience is important.  This is the biggest project downtown in terms of footprint, size and scope since the Williams Forum.  I'd rather they get it right than get in done in a hurry.  TDA has sat on land way longer than this project will take, even with the extension.

They don't have anything signed but they've indicated they want the space.  I was told RC informed the developer they wanted it and would match or exceed any lease offer the developer received.

Agreed, biggest private development downtown in ages, and it is exactly what everyone has been clamoring for. Mixed use upstairs, commercial at the street level. Office, hotel, residential. Fits in with the grid. No more street parking on an entire city block that was nothing but parking before. I'm willing to be patient, that's for sure.

Speaking of the Forum, as a non Tulsa native (never been to the Forum) is the Forum the building that blocks off Main Street. If it is, has there ever been any talk of opening up Main Street again? Especially with the Brady area taking off the way it has. Course maybe it's a wast, walking across the bridges can't be the most pleasant of things. Just a thought I guess.

I wish that would happen, but it would take either a natural disaster or an act of Congress. The Williams developments of the 70s really screwed downtown. But that's a different topic.

I wouldn't say that it screwed downtown.  It gave us a great PAC, a downtown hotel and a nice skyscraper fit for large companies.  Could it have been done differently or better?  Sure.  But, to say it screwed downtown is hyperbole.

Is it really hyperbole? I think the creation of super blocks that limit connectivity, create blank street walls and discourage walking, in addition to tearing down some of the oldest structures in Tulsa is a pretty good definition of screwing downtown. It may just be one of many remnants of the urban renewal craze that turned downtown into a parking lot, but it's the biggest.

I'm glad to see One Place Tower sticking to the existing grid, unlike some of Tulsa's biggest, most "friendly" corporate citizens, e.g., Williams and QuikTrip.

While I do agree that we lost some great buildings and connectivity, we did gain one heck of a skyscraper canyon with the BOK tower at the end of Boston Ave there.  As for connectivity, since we are limited now, I think it's all the more important to make sure the Boulder to Brady to Elgin to 5th to Boulder grid is as pedestrian friendly as possible. 

If I told you a new development was going to be announced that included four high rises (remember One Technology & Williams 1&2 were part of that master plan), multi-story retail, entertainment, arts, lodging, structured parking that is partially underground and public park space you'd be disappointed?

It was and is a massive development that turned what I understand to be a partially blighted area into one of the most valuable pieces of downtown real estate.  It takes up five full city blocks.

Pedestrians can still go from Third St to Archer via the park, sky bridges, etc.  It's just not a street or clear sidewalk.

I'm sure Jeff P has lots of input on this as well.

Yes, there are costs to obtaining a different staging area. BUT, if they are indeed ready to go with the other phases there are costs to delaying that too.  VERY quickly, the costs, including opportunity costs, of delaying a ready-to-go project would far exceed the cost of staging materials in a different location.  (You are quite right they currently own the adjacent properties. Carrying those properties is costing them money.  Until they build the next phases, those properties are delivering zero return to them.)

I don't see anyone complaining.  Just a simple observation about the cause of the delay in the next phases.  Give it a rest, indeed.

This is not really correct. You can only do so during business hours, not during evenings/weekends. I've tried the doors at First Street on a hot summer Saturday hoping to avoid the walk around and through a shadeless parking lot (the last place you want to walk when it's 105 degrees out.

Curious why you have friendly in quotes. Are you suggesting that Williams and QuikTrip aren't friendly corporate citizens? 

If it has to do with downtown, I don't know why you would lump Williams and QuikTrip together.  Sure, I wish that QT would have their HQ downtown, but they are going to do what's best for them.  Williams, on the other hand, has maintained their HQ in downtown Tulsa since they moved here in 1918.

As for the superblock argument, I understand the argument against, but I don't see how you can say that what Williams did in the late 1970s was bad for downtown Tulsa.  Williams invested a massive amount in office space, entertainment and retail in a bad part of downtown when nobody else was.

In addition to the office space, the PAC, Williams Green and one of our only full-service convention hotels (Hyatt) were also part of the development.  Over the years, we've continued to invest in our facilities downtown, and in downtown in general.  We were/are founding sponsors of both the BOK Center and ONEOK Field, among other things.

Full disclosure - as I think I've noted before, I do work for Williams.

You are correct on this.  The block from 2nd to 1st is blocked.  However, 3rd to 2nd is open and 1st to Archer is open.

I've never noticed your logo the scoreboard at the BOK Center.  You guys need to add a few.   ;D

Ha ha... yeah I know.

Not very discreet, is it?

 8)

So I can put into perspective how tall it's going to be, how many floors have been reached?  Eight?

http://oxblue.com/open/oneplacetower (http://oxblue.com/open/oneplacetower)

They're working on the 9th floor right now. It's the one that's half-finished. And remember that it will be more than twice its current height due to the greater floor-to-ceiling heights on the actual floors of the building compared to the parking garage floors.

Anyone else notice the roof of the BOK Center could make a great tennis court or rugby pitch?

Thank you.

Was down at the convention center this weekend, and went to check out the progress of the One Place development. Just my opinion, but I don't really care what it ends up looking like. If it has commercial at the street level, this is going to be a big deal for Tulsa. If it does nothing else but add some activity to that block it is a win. If it spurs more development, then it becomes even bigger.

It was really nice to see two separate buildings going in on one block (although it's part of the same project, with more to come actually). It seems that developments now a days are still acting like downtown is like the suburbs. They want as much land as they can get to do a mega project of some sort. What makes places desirable is the scale, and large scale developments go against the grain when it comes to this. While these buildings are large, they seem to be very human scale at the street level. It's like in New York, I don't know how many times I would be standing next to a 20+ story building and not realize it because there was so much activity at the street level. That is what we need, not 10 BOK towers. Hopefully this thing works out well and acts as a blue print more or less to show how it's done.

here's a little something I found amusing just now.
While out near courthouse and library I overheard the crane operator add a little flair to his "the crane is now in motion with a load" horn/buzzer.
Instead of the usual two buzzes, he tapped out "shave and haircut - two bits"

I thought it was funny anyhow.

I noticed that the windows are in and the "skin" is installed on the NWMI building on Denver.
They installed a few external panels on the Nothside of the tower.

I thought it odd that there is a for sale sign in the old Towerview lot...I thought this project was for the entire block.

It is

So, they still need to get out the checkbook then. They don't appear to be able to use it for construction parking like they were before.

The sign is for a residential realtor and there are plenty of construction vehicles parked there.

Just to the South?

http://oxblue.com/open/oneplacetower (http://oxblue.com/open/oneplacetower)

SE corner has the residential real estate sign. Points you to tulseytownhomes.com

Look what I found, a website for the project.
http://www.1tulsa.com/

And it has renderings for phases 3 and 4.

The City View Building:
From the website this is the hotel with some apartments and condos. About 15 floors.
(http://www.1tulsa.com/wp-content/plugins/oneplace_portfolio/cache/images/1324363185_res_3b.jpg)

Legacy Building:
Office building with lofts at the top
(http://www.1tulsa.com/wp-content/plugins/oneplace_portfolio/cache/images/1324363561_ofc_4b.JPG)

Downtown building across from One Place development sold


(http://www.tulsaworld.com/articleimages/2012/20120703_E1_E1obneplacemap0703.jpg)


Really hoping it's not for parking.

I believe there is a fantastic little art deco building on that block.  Really hope it's preserved, or at least the facade is.

It is not. I have heard, but can't say.

The upper level is all windows.  There are lots of good uses that can be made of it.  Unfortunately I'm jaded and expect it to become a parking lot.  I hope the previous post is correct and something productive will be made of it.

I'd heard sports bar a while back.  I'll go with that for now.

Street level retail is not looking as promising in these renderings.

Those two buildings were for sale as a package. The art deco builinding is great..I agree. I also like the more modern one on the corner.

Thanks Grizz...I guess I should read the sign more closely before I post.

The site shows retail space in three of the four buildings (not the hotel) with the Northwestern building having two floors of retail. The site also seems to indicate that all the retail space is under contract already. It's very possible the hotel might also have the standard first floor bar/restaurant/coffee shop/convenience store that hotels often have in addition to the standalone retail.

One Place Tower: 17 floors, retail on first and the rest office space
Northwestern Building: 5 floors, the first two retail and the other three office
City View Building: ~15 floors with a mixture of hotel, apartments and lofts
Legacy Building: ~8 floors with lofts of the top floor, retail on the bottom and office space in between. This looks to be the only available office space.

Thanks for posting.  I did not realize the hotel would be combined with apartments - I thought that was going to be a spearate building.  I am also surprised the hotel will only have 90 rooms.

Doesn't look very pedestrian friendly either. 

There is supposed the be a courtyard in the middle. They may be trying to force all of the foot traffic in there.

The hill may play a factor in this too, as far as what floors are what.

True, but they aren't going to attract anyone to the place from anywhere else in downtown if the whole development just looks like flat walls and windows.  Hopefully there will be some more detail or character of some sort at ground level.  That side will also be in the sun most of the day so will not be pleasant to walk past with the sun blaring on you from one side and reflecting off the wall on your other side.  On a positive note, I do like the "ingressed" corner entrance, good for rainy days.  What could help the whole thing is to have some canopies or awnings for shade and a little protection from the rain, and for visual interest.  All of which would help entice people to walk around the area.

Will the two floor retail be like an indoor mall setting with a few main entrances, but the store fronts being indoors?  I can see that working.  If that's the case, they can use the glass walls for signage and still look pretty neat.  I guess its hard to determine what it's going to look like when its done.  From the drawings you would not guess that there would be any retail, but the reports are clearly out there that there is retail.  I guess we'll just have to see how it turns out.

For some reason I was expecting street level retail to be more like this:
(http://www.loopnet.com/Attachments/8/E/F/8EF17AD8-7442-4385-8586-5D1D986DD7C5.jpg)

I agree.  Maybe the planners might worry that the people walking outside would put huge dents on the grills of the vehicles speeding down DT streets to get home to the suburbs.

Or this: (go to the link to see the image)
http://goo.gl/maps/v2d8

Good example of how to do it right.  Awnings, trees, lots of entrances and different places per block, lots of windows, and covered entrance areas.  Is that really SO hard to do?

I don't think a "sequestered" shopping area in the center will work as well as it could (or at all) if the rest of the development, at least on one side, were well connected to other parts of downtown via the pedestrian.  When people are walking in an urban area they stay on the pedestrian friendly corridors.  If you walk past a street and look down it and its not an attractive place to walk... well, nobody goes down those streets, your going to stay on the one your on, or turn back.  Good, pedestrian friendly streets reinforce each other.  I guess they don't care if this development is connected to the rest of downtown and are perhaps only counting on having people visit the retail and shops there before and after events.  Was reading an article on the Power and Light District in KC.  It's basically fake urbanism.  Had a lot of traffic when it was new, and during events, but when the "new" wore off and the "fake" settled in,  well now the development is a BILLION dollars in the hole.  It was definitely one of those cases where if a street or area is not an attractive place, such that if your the first and only one there, and its not an enjoyable, attractive, comfortable place to be... it's going to fail, for every place sooner or later will (usually every morning) be empty.   

If I am in the core of downtown and walking around and look down the street towards this development, from what I see in those renderings, I don't think I am going to want to walk down there to it.  They are already kind of isolated as it is from the core for there are still some gaps and akward pedestrian spots on the way to this development.   

 Someone in the know posted that we were trying for a p&l type development by the ballpark. hopefully that strategy has been revised.

You are correct that the P&L District has not met its income projections.  However, they are not giving up on it.  The developer, David Cordish, announced two weeks ago plans to develop $70MM 300 unit rental apartment development in the district.  One building is a rehab and the other is new construction (23 story's 250 units).  KCMO kicked in $8MM for the project.

Yes, Cordish was courted by members of the Ballpark Authority and the Mayor during the development of the BID to fund the ballpark.  He had to be begged to visit Tulsa.  Obviously, it didn't come to fruition.  Multiple reasons for that to be the case.

Doing a development like Cordish and his company specialize in has its advantages and its disadvantages.  On the plus side it develops a large area of land and buildings in a relatively quick time frame and they are able to master plan the area to accomplish things like cohesive signage and strategic and fairly inconspicuous parking.  The downside is they can appear to be homogeneous and contrived.  Additionally, one individual controls the area so if they are hard to work with or go under it causes huge issues.

In my experience, I was initially underwhelmed with the P&L District.  However, I visited last year and thought it had aged nicely in just a short time frame.  I was a bit jealous of the wonderful grocery store, the AMC theater, the outdoor stage and the great parking options.  I was not as impressed by the patrons, but that's just my elitism coming out.

Do the taxpayers of Kansas City, MO also get 11% of the upside on the apartments?

Look at the pic of the place in this thread...

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=199023

It's horrendous.  That's not good urban design.  Nobody is going to go there and "enjoy the space" (except for perhaps during an event or something like that).  Not to mention the development seems to not to be well connected to the rest of the downtown fabric.  It's basically trying to be a suburban mall type area squashed into an urban setting.


Someone the other day mentioned to me that what they knew about Tulsa was that it had lots of crime and no real urban core.  They said "So, whats the difference between Tulsa and a crime ridden suburb?"  "Why would I choose to live there over any other suburban area?"

Then I ask why do we seem to want to turn our downtown into just another form of car oriented/non pedestrian friendly suburbia?  

People seem to think that if you add more density in population, buildings, businesses, etc. that you will automatically end up with an urban area.  I can show you lots of suburban areas that chock full of skyscrapers and people, but nobody is outside walking and you still have to use your car to go anywhere (look to many a suburb in Canada, or Los Angeles which has some of the highest population densities anywhere but huge swaths of it are still suburban/car oriented.  Pedestrian Friendly DESIGN is KEY, not just more stuff.   I hear people in leadership/descision making positions in this city saying that what we are doing will "transition" to pedestrian/transit friendly areas in time.  But that never happens with the models they say they are trying to emulate.  What does happen is that the "mixed form" thats neither urban nor suburban itself continues to grow.  Tulsa is a small, slow growing city and every bit can be important for it will be a Looooong time coming, if ever, if we try to fix something we finally realize we did wrong.  

IMO if we were to create a fantastic pedestrian friendly urban area in our core, which has so much potential, it would go a good way to giving us as a city a competitive advantage over other cities in our class.  And the sad thing is, it's SO EASY to do! lol and yet at every other turn...

I completely with you here.. and it kind of directly relates how the river walk pretty much fell through as well. I actually was faced with this issue in my architecture studio class last year with how to bring a vibrant area to a site, while working with the city fabric, yet being completely new at the same time. It's nearly impossible for it to be a successful project. I used bourbon street as a precedent to see if you were to build it within a few years anywhere else, like this power and light district....it just doesn't work! It takes a long time, culture, as well as history that the city had to offer

The biggest difference being that most desirable places were built piecemeal not in gigantic projects that seem to be the trend now.

Are their really efficiencies of scale for these developments or has the building code basically outlawed small scale developments in urban areas?

I thought there was supposed to be a courtyard in the middle too, but the plans on their website don't appear to allow for any such courtyard.

To reply to several of the above comments.  It can be done, regardless of whether one infills large developments or smaller ones.... if there is a plan and zoning in place.    In Denver I believe they have designated "A" streets/pedestrian friendly corridors and "B" streets/auto centric corridors in their downtown.  

In our downtown we can see the potential for an Archer-Boulder-5th st-Elgin-Archer  pedestrian friendly/transit friendly loop.  You could take that as a first step and have spurs off of that.   Designate those areas as pedestrian/transit friendly corridor "A" streets and zone accordingly and leave the rest as is, if you want.  This loop and some possible spurs off of it also lies along and crosses potential rail and mass transit routes which we hope will come to fruition some day.  That in itself should be incentive enough for the city to assure that that public investment will be useable and worth something.  This loop and its spurs are also near large collections of parking garages and event venues.   Incredible potential is there if we choose to nudge things in the right direction and not cross our fingers and hope that developers will.  Again, once its screwed up, your stuck with FAIL.   Go to a pedestrian friendly city and you can see how little it takes to mess up a street, cut an area off and leave it empty of pedestrian traffic.  One or two things in the wrong place and, dead zone.  Too many of those and you end up with a core that doesn't attain critical mass for the pedestrian, and for transit to ever work well.  You have a city core that cant compete as a true urban experience or offer a true urban lifestyle, and one that doesn't compete with the suburbs as a place to live or shop.  We are right at that stage where we can either connect things for the next generation, or lose it for the next generation.  

Artist,

I thought you would apprecciate this article from the NYT:

Would-Be Landlords Covet a Landmark
By JOE GOSE
Published: July 3, 2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Power and Light Building is a widely celebrated Art Deco skyscraper that instantly became a city landmark when it opened 81 years ago. The 30-story building stood as Missouri’s tallest for 40 years, and its six-story lantern tower, enclosed in sunburst windows and topped by a steel-framed glass cupola, still cuts a distinctive profile on the downtown skyline....

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/realestate/commercial/kansas-citys-power-and-light-building-awaits-new-role.html

Here is the new building they are constructing:

(http://assets.bizjournals.com/kansascity/OnePower&LightTowerCordish*280.jpg?v=1)

I don't want to sound as if I'm in favor of this development model, because in most cases I'm not.  I'd proudly sport a t-shirt that says "Don't Disneyland my Downtown" or "Don't Jenks my Downtown".

I was just trying to show the other side of the argument and why it is appealing to developers, politicians and civic leaders.

If you think about how long it has taken to develop the Brady District compared to the P&L District.  If someone had said 15-20 years ago, hand me the keys and I'll develop everything in 3-5 years that will take you 15-20 wouldn't that sound appealing?  Especially if you're a politician or civic leader that wants to leave a legacy?  What leader can really take credit for the Brady District?  None, because it has been about private investment (other than TIF, adjoining ONEOK Field [which could be argued was paid for by a designated assessment not the city's general fund] and proposed POP) but it's taken half a generation or longer to reach a certain level of true maturity as a district.

As a note, I use the Brady District because it is more complete than Blue Dome, and I think we all know who'd like to claim credit for it's relative maturity.

I will say this about KCMO & Cordish.  From what I know they gave Cordish a hell of a deal.  As an example, in his contract they gave him an opt out provision on future taxes that would fund transportation initiatives.  So, he could reap the benefits of improved public transit but not a pay a dime, while his neighbors foot the bill.  What a deal.

They are in the middle of proposing a sales tax that will develop a streetcar system in/around downtown KCMO.  Heroically, Cordish has agreed to not opt out.

I were a tax payer in KCMO or even the surrounding areas that have paid in, I'd be pretty upset at my public officials for agreeing to such a deal.

This building is beautiful; the ground level is perfect.

Compared to this:
(http://www.1tulsa.com/wp-content/plugins/oneplace_portfolio/cache/images/1324363561_ofc_4b.JPG)
This design needs a lot more "holes" poked in it at ground level, less concrete and more doors, add awnings for pedestrians, add trees, add street level interest. People don't stand on the street and look up, they look at eye view.

-Modified to say: I don't dislike this building overall...I think the street presentation is lacking and I think they are missing retail opportunities.

Amen

On par, I still think that downtown Tulsa is developing more organically than OKC or Dallas or some other places.  We still have a variety of small projects and locally owned bars and restaurants popping up and not as many big developments.  One Place seems to be the only real full block development.  I wouldn't mind seeing a few others pop up, but hopefully the small independent places continue to be the main force in downtown revitalization.

Tulsa might be justifiably reluctant to launch another large-scale development downtown because of lessons learned from the Williams Center development in the late '70s. The Williams Center was conceived as a grand multi-purpose development including office, entertainment (the PAC, the Cinema, and the skating rink)' and retail (the Forum).  With the exception of the city-owned PAC and a couple of shops in the hallway leading from the bank lobby to the Williams workspace, only the office function has survived. A more "organic" development model has the advantage of being decentralized, meaning that one entity doesn't control everything in sight.

Regarding the 2 level retail in the NW Mutual Building.

My wife just got back from Chicago, and she mentioned that on Michigan Ave there were several buildings that had what amounted to a scaled down mall on the first several floors of a few buildings. For example, you would walk in what looked like the main entrance to a building and there would be a couple of anchor type stores (department store types) that also had entrances directly to the street and then upstairs there would be a half dozen or so stores on each floor. Of course above all of that would be an office building/condo/hotel or something. So it wasn't just a downtown mall concept. Mixed-Use.

Is this what they are trying to do in the NWM buildings? If so I think it is kind of neat. There is a limited amount of frontage to each building. By making an urban mini-mall type thing they just increase the offerings in the same footprint. This is what needs to happen downtown. Multi-Use and more options in smaller areas. We don't want 71st street type development where you have to walk several miles in every direction to get to the things you want to get to.

Control...that sums up the feel of this design perfectly. As if they don't want the retail to "spill" out into the street, to declare itself, to be messy in any way with signage that might detract from the building itself.

I'm pretty sure the Hyatt was part of the Williams tower development and its still going.  It seems that the only part that didn't work out was the forum shopping area.  I think that if the forum was still a retail center it would not only be able to survive but would thrive amongst the new wave of downtown development.  It sure would be nice if they could repurpose it for what it was originally.  But I'm sure its too far gone to go back, and there will be plenty of retail downtown if the current development continues, and hopefully accellerates if the economy can ever get back to what it was.

That’s one thing I like about Tulsa’s downtown redevelopment is it doesn’t hinge on a drecky and contrived district like KC P&L.

As I recall, a lot of buildings on Michigan Ave. have what is essentially a mall on the first few floors.  As I also recall, many of these malls all start looking alike as most of them have the same basic chain retail stores.  Of course, since it is in the center of a city with millions of residents and millions more travel from all over to stay and shop on Michigan Ave., it works.

I remember traveling from Missouri to Tulsa as a kid and going to the Forum.  We thought it was so cool to have a multi-story mall with an ice skating rink in the middle of all those tall buildings.  Of course, we also ate at Casa Bonita on these trips, so maybe we were easily impressed.  Nonetheless, by the second trip, even as a kid I thought it odd that we were traveling to an otherwise quiet downtown (on a weekend) to shop at a mall that, except for the ice rink, had pretty much the same stuff as our mall in Missouri.

Utica Square survived and thrives because it was always distinguishable from the suburban malls like Woodland Hills.  Now, the trend is away from suburban style malls and towards centers like Utica Square.  Like Utica Sq., however, downtown retail has to distinguish itself from the malls or new lifestyle centers, etc. and offer unique stores to pull in shoppers from the outer areas especially until sufficient numbers of residents live downtown to sustain the stores.  The old Forum concept was based on a model that is going the way of the dinosaur.

The Hyatt was part of the "Williams Center" development. Williams owned a real estate arm back then that was responsible for the BOK Tower/Williams Center, the PAC, the Williams Green, the Hyatt and the black Williams Center 1/2 buildings on second street. 

We sold those off year ago and just own the Tower/Williams center now.


Yeah I don't think we could very easily convert it back to retail.  For one thing, all of that space is offices now, and it's almost totally full.  In fact, we're in the process of a major renovation/upgrade of the offices in the Resource Center (the old mall/ice skating rink).

I believe that's why skyscrapers were invented. ;)

Not that a shopping-mall-type development is what we need downtown right now. Would be nice to have the skating rink back, though. I'm always game for further ruining my ankle.

Personally I think a plaza open air urban style shopping area would enhance downtown and make it a regional draw. There is certainly room for it.
   

Seems to be working alright in Denver.

The Cathedral Square idea anyone?

i just noticed that the exterior is being added on the north side of the building.
http://oxblue.com/open/oneplacetower

Yes please.

I would like to see a large year round indoor/outdoor farmers market

Is the Cimarex tower at it's final height?
It appears it is, unless they'll be switching to steel.

I'm not good at this but per the camera shot I can see, it looks like they're adding more height.

http://oxblue.com/open/oneplacetower (http://oxblue.com/open/oneplacetower)

Looks like they have about 4 more floors to go to me.

Looks like they're at 15 with 3 more to go assuming it's still set at 18.

It can now barely be seen coming down 75 from Owasso  ;D

yes, my bad
for some reason I haven't been able to see the next floor's column rebar like I usually can from the south.
However, they were easily visible from the north leg of the IDL on my way home today.
So... we're good for at least one more floor.  :)

Looks like all floors are poured!

It looks so much smaller than the rest of downtown from N and E because of the buildings to its east being built on a hill.

Still love having a new tower in downtown!

Does anybody know when phase 3 and phase 4 of one place are going to start?

You made the same mistake I did.

LOL, yep.
They stopped for almost a week started working the columns up again yesterday.

Love to be wrong here!  ;D

If you drive south on the LL Tisdale from HWY 11 the view of the skyline with this building right about Apache is really cool.  If I owned a camera that wasn't attached to an iPhone I'd go up there and snap a picture.  It's a view unlike any in Tulsa.

Here's a video I filmed a month ago on a drive around the west and north sides of the IDL.  You can see many of the construction projects going on downtown, including the One Place Tower. 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iU5aQ-bPYE&feature=share&list=UU7nxrdS8aHzFeLR_GXGX1kA[/youtube]

Wow, the guardrail on 75 Northbound over the river looks like poo.

The prison sure looks kept up though.

Update on status, Northwestern Mutual has moved in.

One Place is downtown Tulsa's newest office complex

A tenant has moved into the new One Place development across the street from the BOK Center. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
1 / 2Previous slideBy ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
Published: 9/21/2012  2:24 AM
Last Modified: 9/21/2012  4:28 AM

Lance Franczyk, managing partner for Northwestern Mutual in Tulsa, says he daydreamed years ago about what it would take for him to move his offices.

"I wanted something multi-use, near the BOK Center, with nearby retail and living space," he said. "I didn't think such a place existed."

When he shared that dream with Bob Eggleston over lunch, the response was a Cheshire Cat grin, Franczyk said. Eggleston then told him about a development he was planning that would have everything he wanted - One Place.

Fast-forward to this week: Franczyk and his 65 employees are settling into their new offices across from the BOK Center between Second and Third streets and Cheyenne Avenue.

Northwestern Mutual is the first official tenant of the $120 million development.

The centerpiece of One Place is a beige 18-story tower, but the gray five-story building on the northwest corner of the site was finished faster. Although construction workers are still finishing up the first three floors of the smaller building, Northwestern has gone ahead and set up shop in the completed top two stories.

"It's like moving into a new house," Franczyk said. "It's not finished, but we're glad to be here."

The move from offices at 71st Street and Yale Avenue returns Northwestern Mutual to its original area after a long time away. Franczyk said that when the company came to Tulsa in 1889, its office was downtown.

One of the main benefits of the move is space to expand, Franczyk said. The financial planning company plans to grow its Tulsa office to about 120 people in the next three to four years.

One Place aims to attract other office-based tenants, in addition to shops, restaurants and a hotel.

"Being first is great, but we want neighbors," Franczyk said.

Check 6, an operational efficiency and safety training company, will move into the third floor of the smaller building by December, said Brittany Sawyer, a spokeswoman for One Place.

Construction of the 18-story tower continues on schedule and should be finished by spring. Cimarex Energy Co. has leased all of it except for the retail-based first floor.

Construction on a third phase, which includes a hotel, has not yet begun. Developers are still shoring up funding, Sawyer said.

In May, the Tulsa Development Authority approved a two-year construction extension for the project. Now the privately funded project that encompasses the full square block must be complete by Dec. 31, 2016, rather than the end of 2014.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=32&articleid=20120921_32_E1_CUTLIN824446

My only beef with this project so far is where are the Street Trees?? Yet again the city and a developer has ignored the concept of Complete Streets. I also don't see any street front retail along Denver in the finished office building... that should be prime space for retail.

                        Mixed Use:
(http://i.qkme.me/3or5cd.jpg)

Yea, not sure how the west side is supposed to draw in the crowds from the BOk Arena. It looks like a standard office building front with, I didn't miss anything, an entrance on the south side.

I guess once people start going in others will figure it out but it certainly is NOT the look I expected. I expected doors on the west side with 3 destinations to enter into.

  It says in the article that the Cimarex Tower itself will have ground floor retail?  Where? What side?   

The only sides fronting a sidewalk are the north and east sides and neither appear to be pedestrian friendly from what I recall seeing.

The plans on their website show retail on pretty much the entire ground floor of the Cimarex building, with exterior doors at the corner of 2nd and Cheyenne leading to a common hallway that leads to the retail spaces.   It also appears to show a ground level entrance into the retail space on the east side along Cheyenne.  AND it shows a narrow-ish set of stairs in the middle of the north side, along 2nd street, that leads up to the northwest and northeast retail spaces along with small covered outdoor terraces for each of those spaces...

I saw in the TW today that the 11 story proposal to the south with the hotel had yet to secure funding and the project deadline was extended to 2014.

Honest question, how is it so many downtown, and even river plans, get announced then fall through or are delayed significantly due to lack of funding?

Is this normal during 'booms' like this?

Serious question not meant to bag on anyone.

Huh.  When they requested the extension back in May we were told that everything was great.  They were ready to build but could not start on phases 3 and 4 because they needed that portion of the site as a staging area for the first 2 phases.  (The  deadline was extended to 2016, not 2014.)  Seems that maybe the staging area thing was just a convenient excuse.

It seems a little suspicious.  In happy news, the Cimarex Tower topped out.

One Place tower tops out at 18 floors

A crane lifts a beam with a tree and flag to the top southeast corner of the One Place tower during a ceremony Thursday. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
1 / 3Showing image 1 of 3By ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
Published: 10/5/2012  1:45 AM
Last Modified: 10/5/2012  4:05 AM

Downtown's newest skyscraper has reached its peak.

The framework for all 18 stories of One Place, phase one, is now in place, and a potted, living tree was lifted by crane to the top of the building Thursday to mark the occasion.

Mayor Dewey Bartlett and other officials gathered at the base of the structure - across Denver Avenue from the BOK Center - for the ceremony.

Bartlett said the building is a great example of turning nearly vacant city land into property occupied by thriving businesses.

"Instead of being a partly used parking lot, it'll be a terrific couple of buildings," he said.

Delise Tomlinson, executive director of downtown development with the Tulsa Metro Chamber, said the $120 million One Place project is just part of more than $400 million in construction that is planned or under way downtown.

"It's an incredible achievement for the dream that we have for making downtown Tulsa the vital core of the region," she said.

Also attending the ceremony was Tom Maxwell, CEO of Flintco Cos. Inc., the project's contractor. He said the tradition of topping out a building with a tree has various origins, one of which is an American Indian belief that buildings should not be higher than the tallest tree. Maxwell also noted that this week marks the 10th anniversary of Cimarex Energy Co., the Denver-based company that has leased all of the tower except for the retail-based first floor.

Construction is on schedule and should be finished by spring. A five-story companion building was completed last month and is occupied by Northwestern Mutual.

Construction on another phase, which includes a hotel, has not yet begun. Developers are still shoring up funding, said Brittany Sawyer, a spokeswoman for One Place LLC, a company formed by local developers.

In May, the Tulsa Development Authority approved a two-year construction extension for the project. Now the privately funded undertaking that encompasses a full square block must be complete by Dec. 31, 2016, rather than the end of 2014.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=49&articleid=20121005_32_E1_CUTLIN664648

Progress as of this afternoon..took this while at the hockey game.

(https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/522364_3898204776497_1944558533_n.jpg)

Any news/rumors on retail tenants for either building?

Tower crane is gone.
Must have been removed on Fri (or over the weekend)

I was certain that was all lined out. Northwest Mutual Insurance is taking over the Northwest corner building. There will be a local restaurant on the ground floor. Cimerex has most of the Cimerex tower on the Northeast corner. Not sure about tenants for the two additional buildings that have not started construction yet.

As I first asked, any news/rumors on retail tenants for either of these buildings?  I think we are all well aware of the Cimarex and Northwest Mutual office space leases.  Both buildings have retail space available for rent (2 floors in the Northwest Mutual building and 1 floor in the Cimarex building).

http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/index.php?topic=12060.msg253792#msg253792

Rumor #1

It appears on the webcam that they are putting a fresh asphalt surface on the southern end of the block, but don't worry, they will start construction on Phases 3 & 4 just as soon as they are done using this part of the property for staging.  Phases 1&2 will be at around 100% occupancy at opening so [the delay of stages 3 & 4 is] not a financial issue.  ;-)

Sigh...  odds of next phase done by 2014?  Of being started in 2013?  Development is great... but we are promised the moon and instead get a soviet style office building and asphalt surface parking.  Say it aint so!

I am no expert, but the number of announced projects that never happen in this town is amazing.

I know those were available for retail early this past fall so I'm assuming they will have that on the ground level. I don't think it's the developers responsibility to put up trees in an urban area like this, but instead the city.

It's not so much that they are "offering" ground level retail, it's that they don't have any "street front" pedestrian friendly retail space.  

One can rightly say the building is ugly.  But imo, there is a factor in building design that is more important than what the building looks like above street level and that is, what the building looks like AT street level, and how it functions AT street level.  Both of these buildings not only ignore the pedestrian but act against the pedestrian and the Tulsa communities desires and efforts to make the city more pedestrian and transit friendly.  I still hope that the next phases of the development are better in this respect for those street fronts are more important.

You say it's the cities responsibility to put trees in an urban area like this,  who, do you believe, is responsible for ensuring that we have streets/sidewalks in an urban area that are pedestrian friendly, and thus transit that can work efficiently and affordably?

When nobody wants to walk down a sidewalk, any transit you wan't to have in the area will not work efficiently and affordably.
If your a developer or business, or city/community, that wants to have urban, street front retail and a different developer comes in and builds something that hurts or negates those other developers, businesses etc. efforts and plans... who is to blame?

There is a planning group meeting regularly to add trees all over downtown. I believe many will be planted in the next year.

Am I the only person who doesn't believe trees are absolutely vital downtown at this point?

Particularly, until we have an ability to maintain them?  Only thing worse than seeing expensive trees planted downtown and then dying within a year due to lack of water is the tree being cut down and weeds filling the former tree bed.  The urban environment is very tough on trees and they must be maintained otherwise it looks worse than not having trees. 

Have the guy going around looking at all the inoperable parking machines drive around with a water truck.  At least he'd be productive.

Just don't carve out chunks of the sidewalk to plant trees. The sidewalks are already narrow enough, and closed/blocked with way too much regularity.

+1   Sadly, the later phases are slated to bring more of the same, at least according to their current renderings.

Looks like this is happening.

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/483436_10151223188783159_1715537347_n.jpg)(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/548771_10151223188813159_352412130_n.jpg)(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/380255_10151223188138159_1581164064_n.jpg)(https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/9698_10151223189148159_1747654229_n.jpg)

These are the first five of the donated 190 to be planted this year. These particular trees were being grown in a tree farm around 96th and Garnett and were donated by the Warren Foundation. They are much taller than the trees Up with Trees usually plants.

Downtown trees can be sponsored and commermorative plaques will be put in nearby to thank the donor. If I had any extra money, I would sponsor a tree or two downtown.

do you have, or could you direct me to more information about this? i looked at the up with trees website, but didn't find any detailed information.  thanks!

I talked to the Up with Trees Executive Director (I know her) and she said she will make sure and put the downtown tree adoption info on the website front page right away.

I heard a rumor you might more than just "know" her.

My stars

Perhaps "know" in the Biblical sense?  ;)

Is there a list of tree types that are and are not allowed to be planted in those spots downtown?

The list changes from year to year. Last year's drought took a bunch of trees off the list.

Is there a particular tree that you are interested in? I keep a tree book in my car if you know the look but not the name.

There is a spot in front of my new shop where tree might have been and I would like to put something there, but not same ol same ol.  I was thinking of a mimosa.  I know a lot of old timers don't like them, but I think they have a nice shape and look to them.  Beats the heck out of a Bradford Pear and they seem to do quite well in our area.  I think they would create a nice, unique look in some of the street medians or sidewalks where a medium sized tree would work because of the way the branches would flow up and outwards over the street and sidewalks. 

If you can go that route, look into the viability of a chocolate mimosa if you like the looks of them.  It'd be the unique that you mentioned.

(http://blog.beliefnet.com/beginnersheart/files/2012/09/ChocolateMimosaTree.jpg)

Mimosas tend to be the trees I cut down as a weed but I agree, it would definitely stand out downtown.

I have a Mimosa I need to dig out before it gets too much more mature.  Artist, are you interested?

I remember them as being a messy tree regarding their seed pods, almost as bad as a sweet gum but not hazardous to your feet.

They are also very soft wood and their life cycle is short.

You can dig one off my fence line if ya want!  Get it before PSO hopefully does in the tree cycle they just sent me.

They're putting in windows on the ground floor facing Cheyenne today. Isn't that planned for some type of retail/dining?

If you can dig it out I will take it!  Otherwise, I can let one grow in my yard for a time then transplant it.

Might take you up on that in the spring.

Now that is neat and eye-catching. Wonder if they might have those at southwoods?  May check on that.

Joe has them at Southwoods, but you can also get them at Depot and Lowes.  The grow very fast and require plenty of water.  They are not a great urban tree because of their growth habit and the fact that the root system needs plenty of space and is sensitive to swings in moisture and changes in PH.  In an atmosphere where they must compete for light (i.e. tall buildings) they will stretch awkwardly instead of spreading, and usually that means that they will grow in only one direction.  This makes for an ugly tree, and even regular pruning won't really fix the problem.  They are great in a moist open space without obstruction.  The dense shade from the wide canopy will also prevent grass from growing underneath.

You could get a similar effect with a much more controlled growth pattern from a Forest Pansy Redbud, or any of your purple plumbs.  As they get older they also produce intrest from the gnarled trunks, and they are excellent urban trees.  The forest pansy produces a nice flush of flowers in the spring that will turn to deep purple leaves, as the season gets hotter, the leaves will turn from purple to burgundy & green, and are one of my favorites. 

(http://www.marcumsnursery.com/descriptions/treepics/ForesrPansyRedbud.jpg)

Purple plumbs are sturdy and uniform.  Many will produce some nice grey modeling on the trunk that adds extra intrest. They are quite popular as an urban tree.
(http://www.moonvalleynurseries.com/uploads/7/0/0/4/7004261/2633222_orig.jpg)

That purple Redbud is a good looking tree...and its State of Oklahoma appropriate!

Temporary construction elevator is coming down being hauled off today.

Purple plum trees are beautiful in the spring, then they proceed to drop their immature fruit all over the sidewalk they grow near.   They stain concrete and would be a colossal mistake anywhere near pedestrian areas.

They make great smoking wood for pork.  That's about all they are useful for.

Any updates on this project?  When is Cimarex moving in?  I presume it should be any day now.

It looks like they are a ways off from that.

The people are moving in April, but apparently they are working on infrastructure now.

Cool.  Any word on the retail spaces in either building? 

I will say the building looks nicer in person than it did in the final renderings.

I rarely post on here anymore, just kind of been pushed to the back of my mind I guess, but I felt the need to chime in in this topic.

So far, it seems as though what was planned for this development is not even close to what we have or what we are going to get. We have one decent looking office building and another really ugly one that would probably be better off torn down. That's really how ugly I think it is. What happened to the exciting mixed use block that would draw all kinds of activity to the district? Why did they put so little thought (and money) into the design for the office building? Why does it seem as though this is just another case of over promising and under delivering by a developer?

Now, I know that the project is (hopefully) not finished, and that there will be a residential as well as hotel component to it. Speaking of which, does anyone have any info on those? But given how the first half of the development has turned out I am not optimistic about the second half. The developers need to put real thought into the rest of this project, if it is still happening, and make it something special. Otherwise it will turn out to be a massive failure on a prime piece of property with huge potential.

Anyone else have thoughts?

100% occupancy (or almost) is never a failure for a developer.

My guess is they wanted to use the autobank as the site to run construction from, which seems to be now used for BOK Center parking only. The developers asked to delay start of the other towers so they could continue to use that space for construction trailers and such. Ground floor retail/restaurant hasn't been announced, but they are talking with destination places. I'm all for local business but they don't need to just put in a 4th topeca and a local boutique that sells quirky hats. As for design, that is the design the tenants wanted so that is what they got.

This looks fairly close to the end product, unless you are speaking of the early initial concepts where they are showing you puppy dogs and icecream cones.  I am not sure what else you want them to do.  They have contained parking and street level retail.  I do think that Northwest's building is far more appealing to the eye, but I wouldn't say something needs to be torn down because I think it should have been guilded in awesomeness.  100% occupancy, more jobs downtown, more people to frequent eating, drinking and shopping establishments.  More people to consider downtown residence...

Yep, tear the crap out of that monstrosity.... Heck, this building alone may force the rapture because god feels sorry for us.

The other day I was driving south on the IDL and was trying to figure out, "Hey, what's that new building on the skyline?"

Not quite used to it being there yet, but a welcome addition.

The only issue I'll have with this premise is it that 100% occupancy came somewhat at the expense of First Place Tower now being nearly empty.  Personally, the saddest part is the exodus of JPMorgan Chase Bank from First Place Tower, the original building and the subsequent added tower were built by their predecessor bank, First National Bank of Tulsa.  I hate to see that link gone.

Other than Northwestern Mutual, which I believe only has two floors of "their" building, I'm not sure that this development has brought any new permanent jobs to downtown.  The largest tenant was already downtown.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.

You are absolutely correct.

And what is this talk of 100% occupancy?  Has the rest of the office space in the Northwest Mutual building been leased?  Has any of the retail space been leased?

The tower has been fully lease by Cimarex.  Initially they were going to occupy a large portion of the building, but they ended up leasing the entire thing but-for some ground floor space.

I do not think the Northwest Mutual building is 100% leased.  The retail still has gravel/dirt floors inside the building.  Which seems really odd.

In regards to the entire project - the fact that they requested a delay for phase 3 (Northwest being phase 1, tower phase 2) and after it was granted laid down a new asphalt parking lot gives me pause.  You receive a 6 month - 1 year extension and you repave the lot?  What happened to the hotel?  The courtyard walk-through area that was going to draw in foot traffic?

::birds chirping::

We need to wait and see if First Place Tower can bring it tenant to hold judgment. If it is empty a year from now, we simply got an ugly building for no gain.

There are more than two tenants. And need for growth was another issue. The mass exodus from the other building was not the fault of this one.

Has Cimarex still not moved in?  (Their website still shows their First Place Tower address.)

If not, does anyone know what the holdup is?

They are moved in.  It was a staged move.

Good to hear.  I guess someone needs to tell their website manager.  ;-)

There are other occupants of the Northwest building, I am not sure of the company but their mark is on the Southwest corner of the building.  As for time frames and why something haven't happened.  I know very little about construction processes and time frames, however the construction began around Oct 2011 and the building was probably turned over for beneficial occupancy around Dec 2012.  13 month construction period and you have two buildings complete.  Northwest mutual moved its offices from South to Downtown, again additional jobs downtown. 

In a year from now, an empty First place tower proves nothing other than the management company is crappy at bringing new tenants.  As for the retail/eating in the base floor of One Place, I am guess that the upper floors were to be completed before working on the bottom floor.  As they complete that, you will see tenants.  Now, for the blacktop parking lot next to Northwestern.  You still have construction going on the north side of the buiding which makes the travel to and from the lot north of the building difficult.

Why automatically jump to negativity when things don't happen at the pace you so desire or if they don't comply with your predetermined criteria.  After starting a business with the better half, I now understand that things don't necessarily happen the way I want them to, they do happen for what is best for the situation.

It seems like one of the NWMutual ground floor retail spots would be a great spot for a TGI-Fridays / Chotchkie's / Louies / Gatti's pizza  type place... or even an Arby's   (Arby's box office is across the street)

Sports bar seems like an obvious fit... but that may be too obvious

Downtown could use a good dedicated sports bar.  Even a national chain would fit in.  Buffalo Wild Wings or Fox and Hound would work.

Those are all reasonable points.  However, the developers have been showing and marketing the restaurant spaces of the NW Mutual Building for a long time.  The fact that they still have no tenants signed up is a reasonable concern.

There have been rumors for a long time of an upscale national steak chain moving into the NW Mutual building.  Last I heard they were starting to look out south.  As far as I know a lease was never signed.

I'm not negative on the building, I think it's great for downtown to experience new construction.  But, it so far has not brought more than two floors of new employees to downtown and helped aid in emptying First Place Tower.  If they had left First Place Tower behind for a tower in the Village on Main development in Jenks everyone would be freaking out and considering it suburban sprawl, but because the new tower is 4-6 blocks away it is a good thing.  It's a revenue neutral move at best.  Shuffling the pieces around on the board, if you will.

I am just trying to play devils advocate, but with ground floor construction still in process on the north side of the building I imagine that is going to shy restraunts away for the time being.  Once 2nd street is cleared up, you will see a push.  With BOK being right across the street you are looking at an optimal location for food.  It is not a matter of if, it is when.

RDJ, while I partly understand your argument, if Cimarex had merely stayed in place, the size of one place would have been very different.  You would have had less office space for availability AND you would have had a company thats current location would not have fulfilled its needs, they would not have been able to grow (and bring more employees to downtown) and probably would have looked for another location somewhere down the road.  Under the current situation, you have a 100% leased One Place, and you have office space available at First place.  They needed a large business to move in to One Place to free up lessor expensive property downtown (of course I have no idea the lease rates of either location).  I see more flexibility for small business with First Place as compared to One Place (sweet jesus the First/One is confusing the smile out of me).  If you want to afford companies the ability to grow and hire more people, you have to accept that they will, at some point, desire to move from one location to the next.  You just hope that it is in the same area, which is what happened here.  Cimarex took 100% lease because they wanted that very thing, the ability to grow.   

The fact is, that marketing effort went on for more than a year and a half and still nothing.  It wasn't for a lack of trying or showing off the space to potential candidates.  Realistically, to obtain the necessary permits and complete a build out of the unfinished space is going to take a minimum of 4-6 months.  The fact that the NW Mutual Building has been open for business for approximately 6 months and still no leases for those restaurant spaces gives me pause as to what the problem might be.

Perhaps the developers aimed for too upscale with the high end steak house who's name shall not be mentioned, but the reality is BOK visitors now walk by a building with an unoccupied ground floor that is gravel and fill dirt.  Better than the surfact parking lot and flop house apartments that formerly occupied this space, but not exactly the image of a vibrant and successful development on a prime piece of downtown real estate.  And the other half of the lot is still a surface parking lot.

You may be absolutely correct, but I don't care when Northwesterns facility was complete, I look at the overall complex.  Now, as of last week there was still orange barrels and construction vehicles occupying the 2nd street corridor.  I just checked and it appears they are gone.  If I was a steak house, sushi eatery, or mazzios pizza I would wait until that was complete before I began my work.  Primarily because I don't want my places first couple weeks/months of business to be behind orange barrels, or have interuptions because of construction in the adjacent building. 

As for the state of the lower floor at Northwestern, i.e. gravel on the floor... I honestly thought that was a crazy design feature since the gravel looked larger than what I would expect to see as a substrate.  I will take another stroll by there in the coming days to see if I can tell anything else.  Additionally, without knowledge of whether any negotiations are going on between the building management and X company, I am not sure what to say about the lack of movement.  I know that sometimes negotiations can take an extremely long period of time, even when you have been established in a building for an extended period of time.  Since it is such a blank canvas, there may be additional time in the negotiations finding out who will cover what costs, getting basic designs agreed too etc.  This is all just speculation, and your comments could very well ring true.  And after thinking about it a bit more, another thing to consider is that any restaurant would be the furthest eating establishment to the west in this portion of DT.

Random thought, how much concern do you think a mainstream "upper class" eatery would be concerned with the bus plaza a block down the street?

Have you ever been in First Place Tower?  The floor plates are not meant for small businesses, they are about 10k and the available space has historically been taken up by single users so a lot of build out would need to be done to accommodate smaller tenants.  On the approx lower 1/2 of the building they are a little over 20k and where the tower meets the original building there is a funky ramp because the floors don't meet exactly.  The lower half can be subdivided much easier, but you are still looking at large plates.  First Place was built to be a single tenant building, it was never meant to be divided up.  When you design a building for single tenant use it is laid out much differently and can be difficult to convert to multi-tenant.  I hope Kanbar and their latest local equity partners can get it turned around, but it really isn't a Class A+ building any longer and will need rent concessions to fill back up.

  I hope they are successful getting things for the ground floor of One Place.  My beef has always been that they have a suburban highrise design that is not amenable to downtowns pedestrian environment.

As downtown fills in, people are going to flock to those areas that have the most life, aka people out and about, aka the pedestrian friendly areas.  More businesses will open in those areas, more people will come, and so on.  As those areas become more attractive, the non-pedestrian friendly ones will appear even more boring and dead/undesirable to hang out in, eat and shop in, etc.

People are very accommodating to the "imperfections" of our downtown environment at the moment because many want to see downtown succeed and or they want to be in an urban environment and what we have is the best we have.  But as downtown develops higher quality pedestrian friendly areas, people will trend towards those and away from the lesser quality ones they may go to now.

Sure you get bursts of activity and crowds at the arena. Huge ones. But you look at the lower levels of One Place, and restaurant or no there is nothing to attract you to go over there compared to what is developing in other parts of downtown.  Don't get me wrong, whatever goes in there will get business from the arena, how much only experience will tell and whatever goes in next to it will also determine it's degree of success, but as things are it will very likely be dead, dead, dead as a doornail the rest of the time (Will they close when there are no concerts starting or ending kind of like the restaurants in the CBD that are only open to serve the office workers at lunch and breakfast, One Place will only serve those who are going to or from a concert?) . Someone might try to make a go of it if they are adventurous, but one might wonder whether a more established company would take the risk when there are better places available.  Again, the location was fine, but the buildings stark, pedestrian unfriendly, ground floor design ruined it and not only ruined it for that building but will hurt whatever goes in next to it or across from it to the north and south.  

Let me try it this way... If someone were to offer me to choose between taking a spot at One Place having the same square footage for the same price as the shop space I have now (which itself isn't in the best location) I would still choose my current location over One Place.  I am going to get more and steadier traffic on the tail end of Boston Ave, where at least the people walking around the busier part further north can still see me, rather than over there by the arena waiting for the next concert crowd to show up and hope they have the time to wander all the way over to my shop in that unattractive building. One thing I have noticed is that people going say "too and from church, or too and from a meeting, wedding,  or some other event, etc. often are fitting that into the rest of a daily schedule and hurry on by my shop.  Some stop in, but most are focused on being on their way to that event/meeting, and then have some place to go afterwards, even if that some place is another "destination" eating area.  One Place, I can not see in its current configuration being an eating or shopping destination.  It's a place people are going to go past quickly to get to somewhere else. 

I have not been there, however, I did just check out the Kanbar website for availability.  Lots of spaces less than 10k and would be optimal for a smaller business.  Some big enough for a single office, some big enough for a handful of offices.  While the building may have been designed, way back in the day, for single tenant, you are going to have a hard time finding a single tenant who will occupy 41 stories of any building, and in this building that appears to be approximately 600,000 sf.  But you said it yourself... it isn't a class A+ building any longer and rather than rent concessions, it will probably need a bit of an update.

Artist, I agree in regards to location.  It isn't an optimal location yet, and may never be, but I have been wrong on many occasions in regards to activities downtown (The arena, the influx of residential, etc).  The arena will draw people, but without other retail or restaurants, a single location will struggle when there is not an event.  Additionally, it will most likely struggle when the event is going on.  Parking will be at a premium and any "regular" customers will avoid the area.  The retail/restaurant approach in this specific area was/is a huge risk, but potentially has huge upside.  The giant BOK surface lot across from the arena has great potential, and will eventually be tapped.  When and if they get funding for the hilton based hotel for the one place complex, aLoft hotel, etc etc etc.  There are things that will make this location enticing.  Anytime they shut down 3rd street outside the arena, it will draw people to the area.  However, there are a few hurdles in this whole thing.  You have several "dead" buildings in the area, meaning they are Government buildings and do not, in and of themselves, have a positive draw to the area.  Personally, I would love to see the entire complex around old city hall converted.  IT could have been an awesome choice for a One Place type development.  You already have the plaza, you have unground parking, location for a hotel and a location for offices.  But with all the uproar over the movement of City Hall, I don't think that would be a feasible option. 

The publicly listed availability doesn't include the recently vacated Cimarex space or the space JPMorgan vacated a few months back.  I believe JPMC had three floors not included the first floor branch.  So, if and when they ever update the available space publicly it will look a lot different.  Yes, there are some smaller suites in the building but not nearly enough to fill a 41 story tower.

The biggest issue with ground floor retail at First Place Tower is the lack of bathrooms.  The only restroom to service the first floor is in the basement and the only access is through the former JPMC branch.  Those bathrooms are in dire need of updating and they need to provide restrooms that are available later in the evening.  Until that happens the restaurant will never be open past 5p.

The first place tower also recently updated the 41st floor to host events, put in new carpet, etc...they have since stopped renting that space out for future bookings...in other words anyone ON the books is good but nothing new will be booked...

SIAP...i didn't see mention of this yet.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/blogs/post.aspx/Naples_Flatbread_to_open_across_from_BOK_Center/20383

Naples Flatbread & Wine Bar has become the first restaurant to sign a lease for space in the new One Place building, located across the street from the BOK Center.

“My Tulsa partner, Jim Wilburn, started planting the seed about locating downtown when I first came here last year,” Naples Flatbread founder Ralph Desiano said Thursday inside the new space that has nothing more than a gravel floor and support columns.

“He knew the owners of the building and knew they wanted restaurants in here. It was hard not to fall in love with a great place across from the BOK Center.”

Desiano and Wilburn opened a Naples Flatbread last November near 71st Street and Yale Avenue. Desiano has three others in the Naples, Fla., area.

“This will be our largest restaurant and will be the prototype for franchising,” Desiano said. “Our first four were remodels of failed restaurants, so this will be our first we have built from scratch.”

The downtown restaurant will have 4,000 square feet, plus another 1,450 square feet on a south patio. It has floor-to-ceiling windows looking west and south.

Desiano said local architect James Boswell will design the restaurant.

Desiano said he expects One Place eventually will have six, “maybe more” restaurants.

Other restaurants rumored to be in negotiations are Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Abuelo’s Mexican Food, George’s Pub (a pub and grill in Jenks) and In the Raw.

Ruth’s Chris hasn’t answered inquiries. An Abuelo’s spokesperson said the restaurant was considering a second Tulsa location, “but we haven’t committed to anything yet.” George’s Pub and In the Raw owners could not be reached for comment.

Naples Flatbread specializes in a wide assortment of flatbread toppings, pizza and pasta dishes, all cooked in a fiery hearth oven.

Desiano said he hopes to have the new Naples Flatbread open by the Justin Timberlake concert Nov. 21.

I haven't tried this place, but this is good news.  I suspect most don't want to be the first one in, so getting someone signed up might help get the ball rollling on the remaining space.

I agree with previous posters, I think a true sports bar/casual food type place would be the best fit in this building.

I just went to the 71st and Yale Naples for the first time a few weeks ago.

I thought it was pretty good... it's perfect for that OnePlace spot next to BOK.    I'd call it kind of "upscale casual" Italian.

I think they'll do really well on concert nights.

Thank goodness, RDJ was starting to get in my head and make me doubt my arguement.

Yes, rumors now that Kanbar is going to mothball the building.  Emphasis on rumors.

They get several restaurants in there and that could change the dynamic and make it more of a "destination" for eating type thing. Whatever happens, hope each one adds some interest to the ground level of that building.

I worked in that building for years and this really makes no sense. It almost full when I was there and that was just 6-7 years ago. Is he really that bad of a landlord?

That's a lot of mothballs.

I'm in OKC, how is this project progressing? Has construction started? If so, how far along are they. I read a few pages of this thread but didn't see much on progress.

The Cimerex tower and the Northwestern Mutual building are completed and occupied (or on their way to being occupied).

The street-level retail remains empty, but one establishment is on the way for sure (Naples Italian restaurant) and others are rumored.

Nothing new on the proposed hotel along 3rd Street?  I had heard at one time Hyatt Place was interested but nothing recently.

Something along that entire frontage and 8-10 stories like the Residence Inn in downtown Denver, with some streetfront retail, would be nice here.
(http://cache.marriott.com/propertyimages/d/denrd/denrd_hotelfacts.jpg)

The final piece of this development has been revived/reimagined as a 7-8 story apartment building--It will match the Hampton Inn in height.  Renderings are public, I'll post when I have time.

This is a shock from the past. Wow.

What corner would this be on? Having trouble placing this.

I think from going back and looking at the beginning of this thread it's going to on the corner of 3rd & Denver.

https://goo.gl/maps/DN2P71yrD5KuAqtn9 (https://goo.gl/maps/DN2P71yrD5KuAqtn9)

Here’s the design presentation made to the TDA last month. Can someone post these as images? This directory won’t last forever.

https://thecityoftulsa-my.sharepoint.com/personal/iesha_partnertulsa_org/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?ga=1&id=%2Fpersonal%2Fiesha%5Fpartnertulsa%5Forg%2FDocuments%2FTAEO%2FTAEO%20%26%20TDA%20%2D%20June%2022%2C%202023%2FTulsa%20Development%20Authority%2FAgenda%20Item%2007%2E%203D%20Flats%20%2D%20Development%20PKG%205%2D18%2D23%20%281%29%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fiesha%5Fpartnertulsa%5Forg%2FDocuments%2FTAEO%2FTAEO%20%26%20TDA%20%2D%20June%2022%2C%202023%2FTulsa%20Development%20Authority

I get a this account is blocked error

Try this and navigate to the 6/22 TDA meeting, item 7: https://bit.ly/3XbyrWI

Sounds like this project is being led by Rose Rock Development working with Studio45 Architects and Cowen Construction, in conjunction with One Property Management that owns the parking lot at that corner.  8 stories with 80 apartment units over a partially-underground parking podium.

Rose Rock developed the Adams, Reunion and Vandever Lofts in downtown Tulsa

Looks pretty good

(https://i.ibb.co/TMdyytr/1-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/WBHnHP6/2-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/0f3R5dn/3-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/FVC17jk/4-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/2jc412S/5-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/Wx1CHDq/6-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/SNTLyFL/7-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/JzqWYgh/8-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/FV4r3CJ/9-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/FXvkK79/91-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/BVc7qrS/92-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/F7dXH3Q/93-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/RTxbyh7/94-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/Gc63LT1/95-Agenda-Item-07.png")

(https://i.ibb.co/Fsq2Z6h/96-Agenda-Item-07.png")

Seems pretty nice. Down goes another surface parking lot in one of our most high profile locations. Now if we could just get something built on the huge empty block to the north...

Pretty funky building there! Will definitely contrast the other buildings surrounding it for sure

Any way you can re-upload this link?

Sorry, the city takes the materials down after a few weeks. The images posted above were what TDA approved in the context of an amendment to the agreement with the ownership group. There wasn’t any other context in the packet FWIW.

https://docdro.id/ttUxVhw