Boardwalk at Bricktown development, skyscraper clear hurdle with OKC Planning Commission
The Oklahoma City Planning Commission on Thursday recommended the city council approve zoning for a proposed 1,907-foot-high tower but warned they do not like renderings showing extensive use of LED signage throughout the four-tower development.
Two people voiced concerns about the development, specifically the height of the project’s Legends Tower and LED signage that appears on renderings to be at the same height of the nearby 50-story Devon Energy Center.
Oklahoma City resident Cynthia Ciancarelli pleaded with planning commissioners to scrutinize the proposed use of LED signage proposed as part of the Boardwalk at Bricktown by developer Scot Matteson.
“The billboards, the flashing lights, are a bit tacky for Oklahoma City,” Ciancarelli said. “We’re not Las Vegas, we’re not Times Square. Too much light can trigger those with sensory issues.”
Ciancarelli also questioned whether building the tallest tower in the United States might make it prone to natural disasters or a target for terrorists.
“Oklahoma City is a playground for investors,” Ciancarelli said. “Who wouldn’t want to invest in one of the of strongest economies in the U.S. But why do they want to build the tallest building in the United States? We have severe storms, earthquakes ― Oklahoma is one-stop shopping (for disasters).”
More: Could the country's tallest skyscraper become an OKC reality? Developer talks funding, plans
Work on first phase of development planned for the summer
City zoning laws allow for density downtown, and planning staff reported the 3.92-acre development easily meets density standards
Matteson said Thursday he still plans to start site work this summer on the first phase of the $1.2 billion development, which will consist of two towers, named Ruby and Emerald, that will be 23 stories above a parking and retail podium. The planning application for the project says the two towers will consist of 576 market rate apartments and 140 work force apartments.
The Oklahoma City Council previously approved a $200 million tax increment financing rebate for the twin towers that is predicated on the developer building them as proposed.
The first phase also includes a Dream Hotel that will be 22 stories above the parking and retail podium and consist of 480 rooms and 85 residential condominiums.
The second phase, Legends Tower, will consist of 126 stories above the parking and retail podium. The presentation showed the tower will include 904 luxury residences, 352 Hyatt Hotel rooms, and 99 residences by Hyatt. The tallest tower in the U.S. would also include 48 affordable income apartments in the podium building.
More: Who will pay for this proposed OKC tower? Could it handle Oklahoma tornadoes? What we know
Planning commissioners agreed with Ciancarelli’s concerns about the signage and stripped out language that would have set a maximum on the signage use that would require additional approval by the planning commission and the city council.
Camal Pennington, planning commission chairman, warned Matteson’s engineers and architects the signage likely has no support among commissioners.
“I live in Oklahoma City, very close to downtown Oklahoma City,” Pennington said. “I can very clearly see the Devon tower from my porch every day. So, this is very important. What I see right now on signage, I couldn’t vote for.”
Matteson, who attended the meeting with local partners Randy and Brad Hogan, indicated the signage discussion was not a deal breaker for his project.
“We’re fine with that. We’re working with them behind the scenes to learn what they are concerned about. We can work on this. I think they are more concerned about the signage they’ll see on the street and we can address this.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Plans for giant skyscraper in OKC clears first hurdle: What's next?
