Taking flight
We have an update on the Monarch Building’s redevelopment.
Stan Lingo is still proud of the reputation his construction company has earned bringing historic buildings back to life, indeed in some cases from almost certain doom. The 20-year-old company is credited with coming up with new strategies for keeping the Hotel Marion from collapsing as Lingo’s crew carefully braced the pre-statehood building with steel, then gutted the interior and rebuilt the floors from the walls inward. Similar magic was worked with the Braniff Building, Sunshine Cleaners, Tower Theatre and Main Street Arcade. A majority of the most prominent historic downtown rescues over the past 20 years were overseen by Lingo. The company’s headquarters at 123 NW 8 was itself a redevelopment of a decades-old building, designed as a showcase of the company’s talents. But now Lingo is set to move his operations into the future Monarch Building at 1138 N Robinson, a four-story glass and steel structure he believes better represents his company’s future. “Moving to the Monarch is a great way to communicate who we are for the next 10 years,” Lingo said. “It’s not that we don’t want to remodel and do old buildings, but we have grown and we are doing larger new steel and glass buildings that we may not be as well known for.”
The move is only a couple of blocks. Lingo said his decision was hastened by a purchase offer for 123 NW 8, a deal that is nearing completion. When Monarch is completed next year, Lingo Construction will be the anchor tenant with 25 of his 100 employees occupying 9,800 square feet on the first floor.
Lingo looks forward to not just showing off the company’s latest building project, which is being developed by Midtown Renaissance, but also office space designed by Lingo employees. His firm represents a mix of backgrounds, from design, to architecture and engineering with Lingo himself having a background in design and engineering.
“We’re changing how offices are used, and we’re going with more open space that will be more collaborative than what we have now,” Lingo said. “We’re known for project restoration and we want our clients to know we are very capable of doing modern office buildings.”
OG&E sends crews to Illinois after blizzard
Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. said Monday it is sending dozens of line crew members, support personnel and trucks to the Chicago area to help a utility there restore power to customers after a weekend blizzard hit the area.
Officials said OG&E personnel will leave from Oklahoma City early Tuesday, with plans to start helping Commonwealth Edison restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers on Wednesday.
The Oklahoma utility’s mutual assistance crews are expected to remain deployed for up to seven days.
Tax seminar planned
ARDMORE — Farmers, ranchers and landowners looking for the latest information related to tax preparations are being invited to attend a seminar Thursday on the topic.
The Managing Taxes Seminar will be from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Noble Research Institute’s Kruse Auditorium.
During the seminar, Noble Research Institute agricultural economists and Doug Dean, a certified public accountant, will discuss new legislation, income and expense issues in agriculture, depreciation, tax changes and end-ofyear planning strategies.
“Time spent learning about the various aspects of your tax bill is always time well-spent,” said Dan Childs, an agricultural economist at the institute. “Attendees will leave with the knowledge to help them successfully navigate some of the finer details of the tax process.”
This event is free, but preregistration is required. Registration is available online at noble.org/events or by calling 580-223-5810.