PROJECT BACKGROUND:

The Skirvin Hotel, built in 1910 by oilman W.B. Skirvin, opened its doors in 1911 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.

Restoring Elegance to the Oklahoma City Skyline

brownfields at-a-glance

SKIRVIN HOTEL

State of Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality

Revolving Loan Fund Grant

EPA-560-F-06-242

August 2006

For additional data and geographic information for this

and other Brownfields Grants, please visit EPA’s:

Envirofacts - www.epa.gov/enviro/html/bms/bms_query.html

Enviromapper - www.epa.gov/enviro/bf

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ or call EPA Region 6 at (214) 665-6444

The Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City.

ADDRESS: 1 Park Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 73102

PROPERTY SIZE: 1.45 acres

BUILDING SIZE: 250,600 square feet

FORMER USE: Hotel

CURRENT USE: Restored Hotel

EPA GRANT RECIPIENT: PROJECT PARTNERS:

The State of Oklahoma

Department of Environmental

Quality provided a $661,610

brownfields cleanup revolving

loan fund loan to Oklahoma

City for cleanup activities.

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)