Added vitality
Flurry of construction at Classen Curve to fulfill late energy tycoon's vision
A boutique hotel, ritzy townhouses and 326 upscale apartments are being built on the last undeveloped tracts of Classen Curve, fulfilling the vision of its founder, the late Aubrey McClendon.
All three projects started over the past few months, defying an economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Once completed, residents and guests will be in walking distance of the city's only Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, more than 15 restaurants, and an array of retail, salons and fitness centers.
Ryan Slater, developer of the $30 million Ellison, began planning for the hotel after buying the property at 6201 N Western five years ago. Construction started in March just as the pandemic began hitting Oklahoma.
“We certainly lucked out having financing in place for our project and that it will be a nice size hotel,” said Slater, managing partner of Plains Management Group. “The apartments were another piece in the original plans and we're all happy to be starting at the same time.”
The Ellison is named after legendary Oklahoma author Ralph Ellison, and is designed to i ntroduce visitors to the artistic side of Oklahoma by creating partnerships with local galleries, artists, creative
programming, and events. The efforts are being coordinated with the non-profit Ralph Ellison Foundation.
The hotel is furthest along among the three developments with the steel structure topping three stories and completion set for late 2021. When completed, the six-story hotel will span 75,000 square feet with 120 guest rooms, a restaurant to be operated by restaurateurs Chris Lower and Joseph Royer, a rooftop swimming pool and bar, and 7,000 square feet of meeting space, including a ballroom and library lounge.
Foundation work is underway on the remainder of the block between Grand Boulevard and Western Avenue where The Residences at Classen Curve is being built.
The five-story apartments are being promoted as an upscale development featuring resort-style amenities including multiple private outdoor courtyards, a heated pool, fitness center, club room, library, outdoor dog run, modern package facilities, and bicycle storage to take advantage of adjacency to the Lake Hefner bike trail.
The apartments are being developed by Hines, which previously built Devon Energy
Center and BOK Park Plaza Tower downtown. Slater and David Bach, director at Hines, said their teams have coordinated their projects to ensure more connectivity between the various components of Classen Curve.
“While the building's primary entrance and lobby will face the center of the retail campus and thereby maximize connectivity to Whole Foods next door, the building will also have ingress/egress options to the north, west and southwest,” Bach said. “The overall development will also see improvements to the landscaping and pedestrian connectivity of the retail campus, improving the experience for all visitors.”
The Residences rep resents the first time Hines, an international development organization, has ventured into residential development in Oklahoma City.
“The existing grocery offerings, restaurants, and shops were already enough to attract our team to this investment opportunity, as the quality and depth of adjacent amen itiza ti on isu np aralleled,” Bach said. “I am not aware of another Class A residential building in the region that is walkable to both Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.”
Not often does one find a developer building milliondollar homes across the street f rom apartments, but Rick Brown, an acclaimed architect, is doing just that with 6100 Grand.
The 14 residences will feature what Brown describes as designed with large, lightfilled rooms, 12-foot ceilings, private courtyards, and exteriors consisting of cast stone and slate. The architecture is in the beaux arts style, which Brown said will be a canvas for both classic and modern interiors.
The residences will range
between 3 , 3 00 a nd 6, 000 square feet, each having its own private elevator and twoto three-car garages.
The development also will include a full-time manager/ concierge too verseee verything from maintenance needs to accepting package deliveries. Amenities at the development will include a pool, cabana and fitness center.
Dirt work just started on the townhomes with the first phase to include five residences, three of which are already sold. The first phase is being built in the center of the block and will consist of three-story homes plus basement levels. Brown estimates completion by late 2021.
M cC len don, whose Chesapeake Land Development Co. owned all of the land that is Class en Curve, originally planned apartments where 6100 Grand
is being built. Brown believes McClendon would be happy with how his vision is being completed.
“He was a friend, somebody I admired a great deal,” Brown said. “He was the owner of my site for along time. He wanted to do a nice housing project and never got to. I'm happy and proud I can do that vision.”
Brown sees his buyers being young professional athletes and empty nester sf rom Gaillardia and nearby Nichols Hills who want“simpler” homes without giving up on size and amenities.
“Aubrey really had a great vision for this whole area,” Brown said. “But until you have real living areas in a space it doesn't have that energetic feel to it. That's why even having a bunch of apartments across the street excites us because it will add a lot of vitality to the area.”