In this case, piling on is definitely a good thing.

 

On the heels of major stories in the New York Times and on CNBC, SandRidge Energy formally unveiled its plans for its not-inconsiderable corporate presence in downtown Oklahoma City. The $100 million makeover instantly catapults Sandridge into the same corporate real estate sphere as Devon Energy and Chesapeake Energy.

 

While renovations are still underway on the company’s main headquarters space in the 29-story tower at 123 Robert S. Kerr (the former HQ for Kerr-McGee Corp.), SandRidge Chairman and CEO Tom Ward has grander plans for the area immediately surrounding the building.

 

Those plans include demolishing four structures, including the buildings at 111 and 135 Robert S. Kerr, and constructing a new building at 120 Robert S. Kerr, featuring a basketball court on its roof.

 

Ward is also working with Chesapeake to renovate Kerr Park just across the street from its headquarters. OKC architect Rand Elliott and New York-based Rogers Marvel Associates (the source of the renderings shown here) are leading the design work on that project.

 

Here’s the formal announcement, which includes a few more details:

 

Oklahoma City, January 28, 2010 – SandRidge Energy, Inc. announced a new chapter in the renaissance of downtown Oklahoma City today with a renovation project focused around its headquarters, located on Robert S. Kerr Avenue. SandRidge purchased the property in 2007 and has been renovating the interior of the building, while developing plans for the entire area.

 

Named SandRidge Commons, it is unique in character and approach. It will span two city blocks in the heart of downtown, and will seamlessly integrate the headquarters into a growing urban community. The project is expected to bring 800-1500 construction and other jobs to the city.

 

“We are excited to be a part of downtown Oklahoma City,” said Tom Ward, Chairman and CEO of SandRidge Energy. “This city is undergoing a rejuvenation unseen anywhere else in the country, which was initiated by the MAPS projects and is now continuing with the arrival of the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA team and corporate participation including SandRidge Commons.”

 

This project is centered around the 30-story SandRidge Building – a modernist masterpiece by renowned architect Pietro Belluschi, best known for New York’s legendary Pan Am building. Through preservation, renovation and new construction, SandRidge Commons will create both notable historical and assertively timely buildings, linking generations of Oklahoma City urban core development.

 

SandRidge has enlisted innovative New York based Rogers Marvel Architects, designers of the iconic NYSE/Financial District Streetscapes, the Pratt School of Architecture, and the co-designers of the new public park on Governors Island in the New York Harbor. Also partnering with SandRidge is the award-winning creative agency Droga5, known for the Tap Project and the Million.