Leadership Square

Leadership Square is an mixed-use office tower complex in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. The complex was completed in 1984 and comprises One Leadership Square (North Tower) and Two Leadership Square (South Tower). One Leadership Square is taller at 308 feet (94 m) and 22 stories. Two Leadership Square is 224 feet (68 m) and 16 stories. They are the 10th and 19th tallest buildings in Oklahoma City, respectively.[2]

Leadership Square
One Leadership Square and Galaxy sculpture
General information
StatusComplete
TypeOffice
Location211 North Robinson Avenue,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
United States
Coordinates35°28′10″N 97°31′00″W
Construction started1982
Opening1984
Cost$94 million
OwnerOliver Investments
ManagementNewmark Grubb Levy Strange Beffort
Height
Roof308 ft (94 m)
Technical details
Floor count22 and 16
Floor area782,315 feet2
Design and construction
ArchitectRobert B. Roloff, Bozalis & Roloff
DeveloperLeadership Properties Inc.
Structural engineerGrossman-Keith Engineering; ZFI Engineering
Main contractorH.A. Lott, Inc.
References
[1]

History

The Pei Plan is a master redevelopment plan prepared for Oklahoma City in the 1960s. The plan called for the demolition of existing structures and construction of new commercial buildings in much of the downtown area, including that now occupied by Leadership Square.[3][4] Plans for the site originally included an office tower of at least 60 stories. The collapse of Penn Square Bank in 1982 and softening oil market created tenancy concerns and the design was reduced. Daon Development Corporation was originally involved as the developer, but perceived antagonism toward non-U.S. entities and Daon's indebtedness resulted in a change to Leadership Properties Inc., the real estate subsidiary of Oklahoma Land and Exploration Company.[5][6]

The building, when constructed in 1984, was owned by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and managed by CB Richard Ellis. The total cost of $94 million was the most paid for a building in Oklahoma City to that date.[7] The Leadership Square building replaced, in part, the seven story Local Federal Savings and Loan tower, built in 1958.[8] The oil price collapse in the mid 1980s adversely impacted occupancy and value immediately after its opening.[9]

In April 2000, MetLife sold Leadership Square to LSQ Investors, an affiliate of Dorchester Capital. This transaction placed the building in local ownership. The $45 million price equated to $57.52 per square foot, lower than expected. As of the sale in 2000, the building was 78 percent leased, with a lease rate of $13.50 per square foot per year. Price Edwards & Company assumed management responsibilities. In 2000, major tenants included Bank of America, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Merrill Lynch, Paine Webber, Smith Barney, and Grant Thornton, as well as local law firms McAfee & Taft, Phillips McFall McVay, and Gable & Gotwals.[2][10]

In May 2005, Oliver Investments purchased Leadership Square for $61 million.[11][12] The property had an appraised value of $77 million. The lease rate ranged from $14.50 to $16.00 per square foot.[13][14] Newmark Grubb Levy Strange Beffort facilitated the transaction and assumed management of the building. Leadership Square's major tenants were Bank of America, McAfee & Taft, Phillips McFall McVay, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., Merrill Lynch, Paine Webber, Smith Barney, Gable & Gotwals Attorneys and Grant Thornton.

In 2012, the annual lease rate was $18.50 per square foot. As of 2017, the annual lease rate is $24 per square foot.[15][16]

Features

The Leadership Square building contains 782,315 square-feet, with 735,000 leasable square-feet. A 4 story atrium connects the two towers. The lot is 2.24 acres in central downtown Oklahoma City. The building has a two-level 340-car parking garage and a direct connection to the Oklahoma City Underground green tunnel.

The east plaza includes the 14 ton, 45 feet high sculpture "Galaxy" by Alexander Liberman. The piece was dedicated in 1985.[17][18]

Architecture

Leadership Square employs a classic International Style Modernist glass-and-steel design. The design implements PPG solarban glass technology to block solar heating.

Tenants
  • BKD, LLP
  • Bank of America
  • Cardinal River Energy
  • Conner & Winters, LLP
  • Elias, Books, Brown & Nelson, PC
  • Enable Midstream Partners, LP[19]
  • Gable Gotwals Counsel
  • Gardner Tanenbaum Holdings
  • Grant Thornton
  • McAfee & Taft
  • Moricoli Kellogg & Gleason, PC
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • Tomlinson, Rust, McKinstry & Grable, PC
  • Wells Nelson and Associates
  • Wilguess & Garrett

Events

The Little Willie's Triple Dog Dare is a tower running event held annually since 2012. The race involves running 138 flights of stairs in both towers and the adjacent 31-story Oklahoma Tower. Race sponsors claim that the event is the only tower running race in which participants run down as well as up stairs. Divisions include individuals, teams, and firefighters in full gear. A Triple Dog Squared option doubles the flights. Proceeds benefit local charities.[20][21]

In 2017, the OKC Over the Edge fundraising event for the Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity involved rappelling from the top of Two Leadership Square.[22]

See also

References
  1. "Leadership Square". SkyscraperPage.
  2. Mize, Richard (30 Apr 2000). "Locals buy Leadership Square". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City. Retrieved 26 Nov 2017.
  3. Barron, Jennifer (4 Feb 2011). "What the heck is that? Alexander Liberman's Galaxy". okc.net. Retrieved 4 Jan 2017. Leadership Square was built as part of the last gasp of the original Pei Plan projects.
  4. Pei Plan Central Business District map
  5. "Leadership Square". Robert B. Roloff, architect. August 2013. Retrieved 26 Nov 2017.
  6. Paschal, Jan (14 Nov 1982). "A Brand-New Skyline Emerges as Urban Renewal Plan Becomes Reality". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City. Retrieved 27 Nov 2017. More commercial development is evident, with projects such as the $60 million Leadership Square complex under construction. Leadership Square will consist of twin buildings of thermal glass linked by a four-story atrium. The south building will be 17 stories tall and the north building will be 22 stories tall. The common entrance is being designed to dazzle, with mirror-finish stainless steel columns, touches of Italian gray marble and two-toned granite floors similar to that used in Kerr Park. "Every time you get a glimpse of it, it will pop out at you," said Bozalis, designer of Leadership Square.
  7. Nelson, Mary Jo (31 Dec 1989). "Downtown Plan Fizzles While Others Sizzle". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City. Retrieved 27 Nov 2017. Leadership Square, a pair of mirror-faced office towers at Robinson and Park Avenue, at $94 million, became the largest single investment in city history.
  8. Rostochil, Lynne (2017). Oklahoma City's Mid-Century Modern Architecture. Arcadia Publishing. p. 64. ISBN 9781439663349.
  9. Miller, Marian (29 Apr 1984). "Leadership Square's Opening Date Near". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City. Retrieved 27 Nov 2017. Leadership Square is fast approaching its June 15 grand opening with only two tenants on board, but the owners and leasing director are not worried about the soft office market's effect on the 782,000-square-foot downtown building.
  10. Mize, Richard (23 Jun 2001). "New Athenian nearing completion Downtown office building to boast 'smart' features". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City, OK. Retrieved 29 Nov 2017. Space at Leadership Square, built in 1984 at 211 N Robinson, and Oklahoma Tower, built in 1982 at 210 Park Ave., is leasing for $13.50 per foot under similar terms, according to Price Edwards.
  11. Mize, Richard (3 Apr 2005). "Downtown deal reached". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City. Retrieved 27 Nov 2017. Leadership Square, the city's largest skyscraper, has 782,315 square feet and is home to such tenants as Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Grant Thornton, Wachovia Securities and McAfee & Taft. The building, constructed at a cost of $94 million from 1982-1984, has 21 floors in its north tower, 16 in the south tower and a two-level, 340-car parking garage. LSQ Investors LLC, an affiliate of Dorchester Capital, paid $45 million for Leadership Square in 2000. The value had plummeted with other property values during the 1980s oil bust.
  12. Grady, Pamela (29 Aug 2008). "OKC businessmen plan to purchase City Place". Gazette Media. Oklahoma City. Retrieved 27 Nov 2017. In May 2005, [Roy Oliver and Mark Beffort] also purchased the Leadership Square and Oklahoma Tower, two downtown office buildings for more than $90 million. The two-tower Leadership Square at 211 N Robinson Ave. was built in 1984. The south tower consists of 16 stories and the north tower consists of 21 stories totaling 735,000 square feet.
  13. Structural and Collateral Term Sheet for J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 2007-CIBC18, SEC, 12 Feb 2007, pp. 73–74, retrieved 29 Nov 2017: Leadership Square sold for $61MM, had an appraised value of $77MM, 732,122 (rentable) square feet, and base rent PSF from $14.50 to $16.00.
  14. Forbes, Laurie (21 Nov 2006), Tronox Inks Biggest Office Lease of the Year; Manufacturer Relocates Corporate Headquarters to One Leadership Square, Washington, DC: CoStar Realty Information Inc., retrieved 29 Nov 2017, The average rent is $16.50 per square foot/year
  15. "Potential Blockbuster: Sale of SandRidge building could be top 10 deal". Stan Johnson Company. Retrieved 29 Nov 2017. Leadership Square space was priced at $18.50 per square foot in 2012 and now has risen to $24 per square foot.
  16. Mid-Year Oklahoma City Office Market Summary (PDF), Price Edwards & Company, 2016, p. 3: For Leadership Square – 735,514 RSF; 40,399 Vacant SF; 5% Vacant %; $24.00 Rate; 20% CAF. Class A aggregate rental rates for the central business district were $23.35 psf.
  17. Price, Mary Sue (9 Feb 1985). ""Galaxy' Sculpture Dedicated by Artist at Leadership Square". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City. Retrieved 27 Nov 2017. "Galaxy," a $300,000 sculpture by Alexander Liberman, was dedicated in a ceremony which included Liberman, Mayor Andy Coats, Oklahoma Museum of Art Director David Mickenberg and Joe Love, board chairman of Leadership Properties Inc. which purchased the work.
  18. Baker, Kim; Jernigan, John (2014). Oklahoma Unforgettable. Farcountry Press. p. 67. ISBN 9781560375937.
  19. Mize, Richard (10 Dec 2011). "Downtown Oklahoma City's Leadership Square re-energized by Enogex". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City. Retrieved 26 Nov 2017.
  20. Mize, Richard (28 Nov 2012). "Oklahoma City competitive stair climb: Little Willie's Trip Dog Dare". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City. Retrieved 26 Nov 2017.
  21. "5th Annual Little Willie's Triple Dog Dare raises money for Homeless Alliance". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City. 3 Dec 2016. Retrieved 26 Nov 2017.
  22. English, Mitch (20 Jul 2017). "Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity – "OVER THE EDGE!"". Fox 25 News. Oklahoma City. Retrieved 26 Nov 2017.
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