Luke Corbett said all development deals would go through with Corporate Redevelopment the day they were purchased. Now Anadarko Petrolium is claiming no such deals were included in the deal between the two companies, and that they are uninterested in developing downtown, and so they will not be participating in handing over properties long-vacant. As if they have better plans or will even fetch anything to just sell the land?

Now Corporate Redevelopment, which had signed deals from Kerr McGee for about 9 properties, (some along North Broadway, some in the Triangle district, and some land along the Oklahoma River that's been owned by KMG forever) plans to sue Kerr McGee for the land, which would cost millions to attain if Anadarko wants to make them pay for it.

The proposed projects so far were for the redevelopment of 3 seperate buildings, one the India Temple as pictured below with original facade, creating about 100 upscale condo and loft units.

Hopefully some way will be found to compromise this and the projects will move forward. Maybe Anadarko will at least offer the buildings for sale. I don't see why they even want to keep the properties still if they're so uninterested in Oklahoma City.

That's what's funny to me. Seems it would be so convenient to just give it away, especially if deals were already in stone.

Oklahoma City downtown condo deal off due to a legal fight among
Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Aug 11, 2006 by Ted Streuli

A $30 million deal that would have converted vacant downtown offices to condominiums and retail space fell apart Thursday, prompting a legal fight among partners.

The deal, announced in November, called for Corporate Redevelopment Group LLC to convert vacant buildings owned by Kerr- McGee at 324 N. Robinson Ave. and 135 Robert S. Kerr Ave. into 70 condominiums and street-level shops.

Corporate Redevelopment Group, known as CRG, is led by TAParchitecture, which is allied with Kerr-McGee in The Triangle, another downtown housing development. CRG filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing Kerr-McGee of a contract breach that cost the plaintiff at least $8 million.

We anticipated it closing today, but we reached an impasse, said TAParchitecture principal Anthony McDermid. I'm very disappointed for our development group and the prospect of the project for downtown.

In exchange for the property, CRG agreed to build a parking garage near Kerr-McGee's offices for the company's use.

After that was completed, Kerr-McGee would provide to CRG the properties, said Kerr-McGee spokesman John Christiansen. Awarding of the properties was contingent upon the garage. We stand ready to perform under the terms of that contract, but CRG sought to change the terms.

When Kerr-McGee's sale to Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum was announced in June, Christiansen said the real estate deals would move forward as planned. But CRG argued in its lawsuit that Kerr- McGee made plans to squelch the deal as soon as the Anadarko deal was struck.

A representative of Kerr-McGee even informed CRG, after the proposed merger was announced, that Kerr-McGee Corp.'s new parent company was not interested in proceeding with the projects, the plaintiff said in the petition.

McDermid said Anadarko officials last week refused a request to meet with CRG.

Anadarko completed its acquisition of Kerr-McGee on Thursday, but Christiansen said the two scheduled closings and their outcomes were unrelated.

McDermid said June 25 that the project to rehabilitate the former office buildings was in the design stages. The site at 135 Robert S. Kerr Ave. is an 11-story building built in 1921 with 155,911 square feet; 324 N. Robinson Ave. is a 10-story building with 75,584 square feet and was built in 1923. A third building, at 111 Robert S. Kerr Ave., was part of the deal, but its future had not yet been planned. That structure, a 38,736-square-foot, seven-story building, was built in 1902.

I can't quantify it, but it will certainly have a slowing effect on the delivery of any for-sale housing in the central business district, McDermid said. But we believe so strongly in the merit of the project that we are still open to any prospects to complete it.

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