PublishDate:
07/24/2013
New Owner Reveals Renovation
Plans for Gold Dome
By: Molly M. Fleming
The Journal Record
OKLAHOMA CITY– More than 10 years ago, TEEMCO
CEO Greg Lorson was bidding in an auction on the
former Citizens Bank Tower against Richard Tanenbaum.
Tanenbaum won the auction and has since turned the
building into The Classen high-rise apartments.
TEEMCO, an environmental ser vices firm, has been
s e a r c h i n g f o r a n e w s p a c e f o r a l m o s t a y e a r, a s
employees are sitting in corners and hallways at their
existing office. Lorson said they plan to be in the new
space by November.
But Lorson never forgot about the building next to the
Citizen Bank Tower, the iconic Gold Dome.
The company could have built its own space, or even
used some of the space in office buildings downtown,
but Lorson said the dome fit better with their image.
“I actually went into that building when it was still a
bank,” he said. “I’ve always loved it and have been
impressed by it. I’ve always had a love and admiration
of architecture. Growing up in Bartlesville with all the
Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, you get acquainted to the
benefits of architecture early on.”
When the Gold Dome went up for sale, Lorson’s company
wasn’t in a position to buy it. He then started talking to
former owner David Box about his plans for the building
and the two eventually reached a point where Lorson
was interested in purchasing the building.
The price has yet to be unveiled.
“We’re lucky at our company,” he said. “What we do
matters. We are so lucky at TEEMCO that the bigger we
become, the more successful we become, and the better
off the planet is. We wanted a building that mattered.
We wanted to do something that matters. We wanted
that to be symbolic of our company.”
Box said that since TEEMCO would be the dome’s only
occupant – which is what the building was built for– they
were the perfect buyers.
Source:
Fleming, M. New Owner Reveals Renovation Plans for Gold
Dome. The Journal Record. Retrieved June 4, 2014
TEEMCO Press Portfolio
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