Phases 1 through 4
The project’s first phase focused on building a parking garage in the basement that would hold 40 cars. The idea was that the garage would generate money and help support the next three phases of the rehabilitation. “The permit required the submission of structural calculations that confirmed the structural integrity of the building and conformance with the current code requirements,” Slaughter says. “During construction, debilitated portions of the garage were demolished for the inclusion of newer materials, walls and floors.”
The lobby rehab was the second phase. The owners wanted to hold events in the space, including weddings and class reunions, again with the goal of generating income to help complete the hotel rehabilitation. As part of the lobby-level project, Slaughter and his team also made room for Topéca Coffee, the only seed-to-roast-to-cup coffee house in Oklahoma. “The coffee shop became an important anchor at this time and during all construction phases,” Slaughter explains. “Topéca also added viability to a project that most thought was not going to happen.”
The third phase included developing 102 luxury guestrooms and 76 apartments to provide steady income for the property. Because the building had been gutted from the second to the 15th floors during one of its previous failed renovation attempts, the team received a favorable ruling from the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. National Park Service (NPS) and State Historic Preservation Office concerning the interior room layouts. “The original building had a double-loaded corridor, which made the rooms very small, and they weren’t modern in layout,” Slaughter says. “The National Park Service is very concerned with corridors and doors; if there’s an existing door in the corridor you’ve got to keep it. We petitioned that because the corridor already was gone, we shouldn’t have to put it back. The park service agreed.”
The new layout features a single-loaded, U-shaped corridor, allowing all the rooms’ and apartments’ windows to face downtown with views of the Arkansas River and BOK Center. Hotel rooms include kitchenettes and high-end bathrooms. In fact, the hotel rooms are virtually as well appointed as the apartments, which measure up to 1,200 square feet. “We had a couple pictures of the original rooms and they weren’t anything to write home about,” Slaughter says. “Today, out of 102 hotel rooms, there are 21 different room types. And out of 76 apartment units, there are 26 different unit types. I think that’s part of the hotel’s popularity—not every room/apartment is the same.”
To receive historic tax credits, the rehabilitation was completed according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. For Phases 1 through 3, the new elements only had to be designed and constructed in a way that complemented the original building because much of the original design was gone. For example, the lobby’s new Grand Staircase functions like the original staircase; however, its ornamentation is modern in design. Comparing old photographs with the original construction drawings, the design team discovered the Grand Staircase that was actually built (and demolished) did not match the original drawings. “We took the original drawings, used that shape and then added new railings to give it a bit of a new look,” Slaughter explains.
Phase 4 occurred simultaneously with Phase 3 and consisted of the historic rehabilitation of the Crystal Ballroom. Because enough of the ballroom’s existing elements were visible to understand the original condition, the team had to make the rehab look identical. However, new materials were allowed. “All the decorative plaster had to be taken out because it was so damaged,” Slaughter recalls. “The only way to do that was to condemn that room structurally. Then we ripped everything out and put it all back together.” [Editor’s Note: View a video of the Crystal Ballroom in its dilapidated state on retrofitTV; click on the “Project Walkthroughs” tab.]
Before the ballroom was torn apart, Casting Designs Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, measured every piece of plaster to recreate it with glass-fiber-reinforced gypsum that looked identical to the original. “I have pieces on my wall of some of the original plaster capitals,” Slaughter notes. “When you compare it to a piece that Casting Designs did, it’s hard to tell the difference.”
Compromises and Innovations
Slaughter says, unfortunately, energy efficiency was the least of the project team’s concerns as they navigated historic guidelines while bringing the rundown hotel back to magnificence. They had considered replacing the original clear, single-pane windows, which have a hexagonal wire embedded in the glass for approved fire resistance. In 1925, these windows were the best available. However, the team soon discovered they were flanged into the masonry. “The flange went from the window jamb flat into the masonry and at three points on each side. We about ripped the wall apart to get one window out,” Slaughter remembers. Instead, the team hired local glazers to repair each window, frame and sash, as well as pulleys.