LOOKING AHEAD
Changes underway at major downtown properties
Some of the last views from the sculpture of the late James Cotter are of a rapidly changing skyline that includes the demolition of the 1971 annex of First National and the end of Cotter's legacy at the renamed BancFirst Tower.
In the early 1970s, the two addresses represented the financial and political power of Oklahoma City’s two biggest banks, First National Bank and Liberty Bank.
First National started to decline first with the failure of its anchor in 1986. Liberty Bank was taken over by a series of out-of-state megabanks that resulted in a shrinking operation that finally moved to a small Chase bank drive-thru down the street.
The Broadway annex demolition will be followed by a new tower providing cars with access to the middle 1957 building of the sprawling First National property that is being converted into a garage. The historic 1931 tower, meanwhile, is being converted into apartments, a hotel and retail.
Liberty Bank, meanwhile, was renamed Cotter Ranch Tower when it was bought by Texan James Cotter in 2004.
The tower slowly lost tenants as the building fell into disrepair and is currently about half occupied. The property went into receivership following Cotter’s death and was recently bought by BancFirst for its future headquarters.
The tower was renamed BancFirst Tower, most vestiges of Cotter’s ownership have disappeared and the statue is set to soon be returned to his family. BancFirst is working on plans to upgrade the tower’s infrastructure and interiors to be followed by a modernization of the facade and plaza.