News Releases
New Oklahoma City Federal Building: Groundbreaking Set for TuesdayGSA # 7A-01-04 November 30, 2001 OKLAHOMA CITY -- The public is invited to join local, state and Federal officials at the U.S. General Services Administration's (GSA) groundbreaking ceremony for the new Federal building in downtown Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2:30 p.m. The ceremony will be held on the site of the new building, just north of the Oklahoma City National Memorial, where the former Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building once stood. U.S. Rep. Ernest Istook Jr., whose district includes Oklahoma City, is scheduled to speak, along with Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys, GSA Administrator Stephen A. Perry, GSA Acting Regional Administrator, Greater Southwest Region, W. Leighton Waters, and Mark Grimes of Flintco Inc., the Oklahoma City firm that will construct the new building. U.S. Sens. Don. Nickles and James M. Inhofe; U.S. Reps. Steve Largent, Brad Carson, Wes W. Watkins, J.C. Watts Jr. and Frank D. Lucas also are invited participants. The 180,000-square-foot building will be part of a $40-million, Federal Campus covering a two-square-block area. Scheduled for completion in September 2003, the project is designed to link the Central Business District and North Downtown neighborhood and will retain existing streets. The northern lobby entrance will provide a monumental gateway to the city's downtown. The southern entrance will provide access to government buildings on the other side of the building. Security measures, such as building mass and setbacks, bollards, and glazing inside the courtyard, are incorporated into the design of the building, which will house various Federal agencies. A park on the northern portion of the campus will include space for parking and informal gatherings for Federal employees and the public. An ellipse between the park and the building will create a formal yard, in the tradition of the ceremonial "stomp grounds" Native Americans once built at the edges of their westernized Oklahoma cities. Ross Barney + Jankowski Architects of Chicago, along with Atkins Benham of Oklahoma City, designed the building; Heery International of Houston, Tex., is construction manager. Index of News Releases
Last Reviewed 8/19/2005
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