SKIRVIN HOTEL
State of Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality
Revolving Loan Fund Grant
Restoring Elegance to the Oklahoma City Skyline
ADDRESS:
PROPERTY SIZE:
BUILDING SIZE:
FORMER USE:
CURRENT USE:
I Park Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 73 102
1.45 acres
250,600 square feet
Hotel
Restored Hotel
EPA GRANT RECIPIENT:
The State of Oklahoma
Department of Environmental
Quality provided a $661,610
brownfields cleanup revolving
loan fund loan to Oklahoma
City for cleanup activities.
PROJECT PARTNERS:
City of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City Urban Renewal
Authority, Oklahoma Department of Environmental
Quality, Oklahoma Department of Commerce,
Oklahoma State Historical Preservation Office,
Skirvin Solutions Committee, Skirvin Partners,
Marcus Hotels and Resorts, U.S. Housing and Urban
Development (CDBG, Section 108, EDI)
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City
For additional data and geographic information for this
and other Brownfields Grants, please visit EPAs:
Enviiofacts - www.epa.gov/enviro/html/bms/bms query.html
Enviromapper - www.epa.gov/enviro/bf
PROJECT BACKGROUND:
The Skirvin Hotel, built in 1910 by oilman W.B. Skirvin, opened its doors in 191 I and was one of the first buildings in Oklahoma City to
have air conditioning. It had two 10-story towers containing 224 rooms, running ice water in each room, a ballroom that seated 500,
and imported Austrian chandeliers costing more than $100,000 each. The hotel was built to be self-sufficient and had its own natural
gas pipeline, electric plant, water wells and telephone switchboard. In 1930, a third wing was added, raising the structure to 14 stories
and increasing hotel capacity to 525 rooms. The Skirvin Hotel closed its doors in 1988 despite being listed on the National Register of
Historic Places in 1979. The building stood empty for almost 15 years until Oklahoma City took the lead to preserve and restore this
elegant landmark to the city's skyline thus creating needed hotel space. However, site assessments revealed that the hotel was
contaminated with friable asbestos containing material (ACM), lead paint, and pigeon droppings, which potentially contain fungi that
cause the human respiratory disease histoplasmosis. Devices were also found onsite that contained hazardous chemicals, such as
mercury thermostats, fluorescent light bulbs containing mercury, and fluorescent light ballast containing PCBs.
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
• Removed 3,410 linear feet and 125,720 square-feet of friable asbestos
• Created capacity to preserve, restore and add needed hotel space to the downtown area
• Leveraged approximately $66 million for cleanup and redevelopment efforts
• Redevelopment is underway and the hotel is slated to reopen in late 2006 or early 2007
OUTCOME:
The use of Brownfields Revolving Loan Funds to address and clean up the friable asbestos eliminated
the greatest barrier to preserving and restoring the hotel. Cleanup was completed on July 21, 2005
and the facility will be reopened as the Skirvin Hilton in late 2006 or early 2007. The restoration of
the hotel includes the original exterior finish, installation of historically accurate windows, reconfigured
guest rooms, and new guest elevators. The hotel will feature an elegant lobby and restaurants, as well
as state-of-the-art meeting rooms, and the restored 14-floor Venetian Room. Located in downtown
Oklahoma City in a prime tourist and business area, the Skirvin Hotel is within walking distance of the
newly renovated Cox Convention Center and the newly built Ford Center (sports and entertainment arena), and the new Bricktown
Ballpark and the Bricktown entertainment area are within six blocks. The Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial is within four blocks of the
hotel and has hosted more than one million visitors since it opened in 2000.
The Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ or call EPA Region 6 at (214) 665-6444
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