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In Oklahoma City, plans for North America’s new tallest building move toward approval

2024-04-13T10:00:00-04:00

The Oklahoma City Planning Commission voted yesterday, April 12th, to recommend its city council's approval of the proposed 1,907-foot-high tower design from AO (fmr. Architects Orange) that would become North America's tallest building when realized.

Plans are still contingent on the success of the proposed first two towers' leasing agreements, as we reported in January. AO, which just celebrated its 50th anniversary, is working for a local Orange County-based developer named Scot Matteson to realize the design after increasing its initial proposal for a 1,750-foot design that would have been America’s second-tallest building. The so-called Legends Tower would be built at a total of 126 stories and include 944 luxury residences plus another 99 condominiums and 352 rooms reserved for the Hyatt Hotel chain.

Just 48 of the tower's apartments will be considered affordable (all of which are to be located in the podium). The proposed LED signage is the only part of the proposal that was...

Oklahoma City proposal for the U.S.'s new tallest building is fully funded, developers say

2024-03-15T12:11:00-04:00

While many have wondered if the project is financially feasible in Oklahoma City, Matteson told The Oklahoman the entire $1.5 billion development is fully funded. But, Matteson admitted there are some outstanding questions about whether the tower can be built. The outcome lies in whether he can receive approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, zoning approval from the city and whether the phase one apartment towers are sufficiently leased.

By extending the spire of the 1,907-foot Legends Tower, the Architects Orange (AO) plan would become, as we previously reported, the tallest building in North America. The developers of the 5-million-square-foot proposal have stated at least 50% of units in the first two smaller towers will have to be leased first before they build at that height.

Speaking to reporters about the prospect of realizing America's tallest building in a small city like OKC, developer Scot Matteson said: "I’m used to this skepticism by the public and other people, but we have goals, and we seem to meet them all the time."

Matteson Capital also said they won’t be able to obtain a building permit until at least September.

The tallest building in the U.S. may be built in Oklahoma City following design revision

2024-01-23T11:22:00-05:00

The team behind the Boardwalk at Bricktown development in Oklahoma City is to request a design variance from city officials which, if granted, would see the project become the tallest building in the United States. Designed by California-based Architects Orange for Matteson Capital, the project contains four towers and spans 5 million square feet, hosting hotels, residential units, and commercial and hospitality functions.

Image render courtesy AO

As we reported earlier this month, the project sees three towers rising 345 feet, with a fourth taller ‘Legends Tower’ originally measuring 1750 feet in height. With the scheme already approved by city officials, the team has sought the approval of a variance that will increase the height of the Legends Tower to 1,907 feet, making it the tallest building in the United States. The record is currently held by One World Trade Center, which measures 1,776 feet tall.

Image render courtesy AO

Described as a “mixed-use marvel” by the design team, t...

A proposal for the second-tallest building in North America sneaks forward in Oklahoma City

2024-01-02T19:13:00-05:00

Oklahoma City could soon be home to the country’s second-tallest structure if plans for a new 1,750-foot skyscraper designed by the California practice Architects Orange (AO) are approved along with a larger $1 billion entertainment district proposal from developer Scot Matteson.

The tower is included as part of the mixed-use Boardwalk at Bricktown development that calls for a hotel, two condominium towers, and an LED-lit multilevel podium with a pool and other public areas at a site just two blocks away from where the new home of the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA franchise is now being planned.

Matteson and other developers behind the scheme are hoping the local real estate market can support their ambitions, and say the 134-story apartment tower could be added to the mixed-use scheme provided there is adequate demand. The plan would be funded in part by a $200 million tax increment financing.

Image render courtesy AO.

"We felt that creating someplace can live and work and play and be ...

Oklahoma City’s Scissortail Park embraces a city-to-nature approach

2019-10-19T18:00:00-04:00

Opened in late September, [Scissortail Park] is a new civic front yard on the edge of downtown, framing views of the city’s skyline with its concert stage and broad lawn. “It’s an aspirational park, in that it’s the kind of amenity that people in Oklahoma City used to imagine only existing in other places,” says Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt.

Regarding the park’s generous, publicly-oriented design, CityLab’s Zach Mortice writes, “As a gathering space in the heart of the city, Scissortail Park aims to find a large and diverse audience with a wide range of features and landscape types. Pedestrian and biking paths alternately curve or slice across it, though nearly everything orbits the park’s ovular great lawn and concert stage venue.“

The transformative park is designed by Hargreaves Associates with architectural assistance from Butzer Architects and Urbanism.

A look at some cities revitalizing their blighted rivers

2016-08-24T13:52:00-04:00

Los Angeles wants to rethink its river. [...] And LA isn’t the only metropolis looking to reclaim its once-mocked waterway. Cities around the world are realizing that water can be a cultural and recreational asset, not something to hide or pillage, and it seems no waterway will be wasted for long.

Urbanism as a public health issue: Oklahoma City's battle with obesity

2015-10-19T18:11:00-04:00

For [Oklahoma City] is one of the nation’s most spread-out urban environments, covering 620 square miles, which means its 600,000 residents rely on cars [...] [Mayor Mick Cornett] began to look afresh at the culture and infrastructure of his city, realising how the extent of reliance on cars had alienated human beings from enjoying and using their own urban environments. [...] [Cornett] wanted to remake his huge metropolis by remoulding it around people in place of cars.

More at the intersection of urban planning and public health:

Modern Landmark To Be Demolished in OKC

2014-01-21T11:05:00-05:00

Despite a city planning report advocating its preservation, Oklahoma City’s Downtown Design Review Committee voted 3-2 last week to green light the destruction of the Stage Center, a futuristic landmark of modern architecture designed by the late John M. Johansen.

Originally known as the Mummers Theater, the center opened in 1970, an optimistic and playful complex of boxy spaces in aluminum and concrete, connected by angling catwalks and exposed mechanical systems painted in primary colors. From the outset, it looked more like a child’s fantasy of a space station than a hall for theatrical performance. Johansen, an enthusiast of new technologies throughout his life, compared its pod-like elements to electronic components.

The theater, which sits on a prime landscaped lot adjacent to the Myriad Botanical Gardens in Oklahoma City’s business district, will be replaced by a glassy office tower of no particular distinction.

Although the flood-damaged theater would require conside...