Oklahoma
Oklahoma City aims to unseat NYC with America’s tallest building
One World Trade Center could soon lose its title as America’s tallest building — if developers in Oklahoma City succeed in their plan of constructing a massive skyscraper at the height of 1,907 feet.
Dubbed “Legends Tower” at a development site known as the The Boardwalk at Bricktown, the proposed building would easily surpass One World Trade Center’s 1,792 feet and would give Oklahoma City the fifth-tallest structure in the world.
Plans were announced this week by real estate investor Matteson Capital and AO architecture firm, who said the tower would be part of a mixed-use project. Unlike One World Trade Center and Chicago’s Willis Tower (1,729 feet) — both of which primarily serve as office buildings — the Oklahoma City tower would feature nearly 2,000 apartment units, a Hyatt hotel with hundreds of rooms, and 110,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment.
With the work-from-home revolution and a steep decline in demand for office space, the mixed-use plan represents a shift in commercial development. Currently, there sits more empty office space in the U.S. than at any point since 1979.
The 1,907 feet for the tower is also a symbolic number, representing the year 1907, when Oklahoma officially became a state. It would roughly double the height of Oklahoma City’s current largest building, the Devon Energy Center, which measures just 50 stories high.
However, Oklahoma City’s mayor is said to be noncommittal about the new plan. The idea was also dismissed as “pie in the sky” by one city economist, especially given the entire project is estimated to cost $1.6 billion, according to CNN.
“The smaller the city, the harder it is to fill all that extra space and at a price that makes it worth it,” said Jason Barr, a professor of economics at Rutgers University-Newark, adding that the Oklahoma City tower would be “way too tall given the city’s population.”
Currently, New York and Chicago — which represent the country’s first- and third-largest cities by population — are home to the 10 tallest buildings in the U.S.
But the latest proposal is evidence of new ambitions for a booming region.
The U.S. Census Bureau has released its new annual population estimates for cities, and… it’s no fluke! Oklahoma City is still America’s 20th-largest city! pic.twitter.com/d4vqODMlqr
— Mayor David Holt (@davidfholt) May 25, 2023
Although Oklahoma City is currently America’s 20th largest, the U.S. Census Bureau reports its the 6th-fastest growing city in the country. Between 2020 and 2022, it reportedly grew in population by about 2%, while the populations of larger cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia actually declined.
Oklahoma City, Oklah. — A dispute over a denied roof claim for a Tulsa family has landed before the Oklahoma Supreme Court in a case that could reshape how insurance companies handle claims across the state and determine whether the state attorney general can intervene.
State Farm argues the case is unconstitutional.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond says it is not and has joined the case, saying the state needs enforcement power when policyholders cannot pursue claims on their own. “If the insurance commissioner cannot enforce these laws and the attorney general cannot enforce these laws then we have created a chasm in the state of Oklahoma through which foreign corporations can come in and injure Oklahomans with reckless disregard,” Drummond said.
State Farm is accused of improperly denying hail and wind damage claims, affecting thousands of Oklahomans.
Billy Hursh, identified as a Tulsa police officer who sued State Farm after his roof claim was denied, said he believes the company’s conduct went far beyond his family’s case.
Asked about State Farm’s “like a good neighbor” branding, Hursh responded, “Show me. Prove it.”
An attorney representing Drummond is using RICO, a law often used in organized crime cases, to argue the company carried out a coordinated pattern of wrongdoing.
Drummond said his involvement is aimed at representing policyholders who cannot afford legal help. “This is the attorney general representing all of the State Farm policy holders who cannot afford or don’t have access to an attorney. That’s why I’m in,” Drummond said.
During arguments, justices weighed whether the case is a consumer protection issue or a contract dispute that belongs in district court.
Hursh alleges it’s widespread misconduct. “This was a pervasive scheme that wasn’t just done to us it was done to thousands of people across Oklahoma to the tune of millions or maybe even billions of dollars,” Hursh said.
State Farm told FOX 25 it has paid more than $1 billion in Oklahoma wind and hail claims over the past two years and strongly denies any wrongdoing.
Drummond said his investigation could expand beyond State Farm. “There is smoke and I’m following the smoke to find the fire,” he said.
The court’s decision could expand or limit the attorney general’s power to intervene in private lawsuits and could affect how insurers handle claims statewide.
PRYOR, Okla. (KOKH) — A judge has ruled in favor of one of Oklahoma’s largest outdoor cannabis farms after the grow had its license suspended.
On Monday, an administrative law judge for the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority lifted an emergency order that had shut down Cedric Gardens Inc. since late February.
The ruling restores the licensed commercial grower’s ability to operate and lifted the Emergency Order of Summary Suspension.
OMMA issued the emergency order on Feb. 24, 2026, alleging that 348 totes and bags containing 1,923 pounds of flower and 5,742 pounds of shake were “untagged” and “unreconcilable.”
Cedric Gardens challenged that claim and argued its practices complied with OMMA rules and did not pose a public safety risk.
“We proved that there was no public safety threat, and that Cedric Gardens’ business practices were approved by OMMA every year without ever citing or disciplining the business,” said Dana L. Kurtz of Wirth Law Office, who represents Cedric Gardens. “We also established that all of the product was completely reconcilable in Metrc, which OMMA did not even bother to check before suspending the license without any evidence.”
Susan Brosky, a co-owner of Cedric Gardens, said the company was relieved by the judge’s decision.
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“We are elated that the ALJ found that OMMA’s emergency summary suspension should be lifted,” Brosky said. “We have never provided product to the public that posed a public safety risk, all of our product is safe!”
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch until 12 a.m. for parts of eastern Oklahoma, including Tulsa.
Counties included in the watch:
- Adair
- Cherokee
- Craig
- Creek
- Delaware
- Mayes
- Nowata
- Osage
- Rogers
- Tulsa
- Wagoner
- Washington
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