Developer Says $1.5B Supertall in Oklahoma CIty Is Funded

Is the Legends Tower, a supertall skyscraper planned in Oklahoma City, a punchline, a publicity stunt or neither?

Scot Matteson, the developer behind what would be the tallest building in the country, says it is a project that’s moving forward. The $1.5 billion proposal is fully funded, he told the Oklahoman last week.

To raise money, the Newport Beach, California developer launched a $250 million fund, Legends Capital Management, the outlet reported.

The list of investors tied to Matteson’s development are impressive: former NBA coach Byron Scott; retired NBA player Cuttino Mobley; Olympic gold medalist and retired NFL player Ron Brown; sports agent Lee Steinberg; John DeCero, CEO of California-based Mechanics Bank; Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer; real estate investment banker Guy Johnson; Paula Paizes, COO of Pressman Films; Reed Hummel, executive with Wells Fargo Capital Finance; and billionaire business executive Roger Penske.

The city of Oklahoma City also awarded a record-setting $200 million in tax-increment financing for the project, which was previously planned as three 34-story mixed-use towers but now it will also include the supertall as the centerpiece. The TIF would come in the form of reimbursements after the project is completed.

“Our goal is to start moving dirt by summer, probably June or July,” Matteson told the outlet. “We will be first getting a grading and infrastructure permit. And then we will get a building permit in September. The entire project is financed, including the tower — if the tower gets approved. We have financing already committed for all 5 million square feet.”

The city and the Federal Aviation Administration have yet to approve the massive structure.

The project, called Boardwalk at Bricktown, includes two apartment and retail buildings with 576 market-rate apartments and 140 affordable units, along with a Hyatt Dream Hotel with 480 hotel rooms and 85 condominiums.

Once those are 50 percent leased, Matteson said he plans to start construction on the 134-story Legends Tower. It is planned as a Hyatt Hotel and Residences by Hyatt, with 1,000 apartments, 99 condos, 48 affordable apartments and 400 hotel rooms.

“I can see why it’s getting a lot of attention and a lot of skepticism as to whether it can get financed, whether it can get built structurally and how tornadoes might affect it,” Matteson told the outlet.

Bricktown developers Brad and Randy Hogan are partners on the project. Randy has been quoted in the past for calling the project “aspirational.”

Matteson has mostly flown under the radar as a developer prior to his Oklahoma City plans. He did, however, grab some media attention during a short-lived relationship with reality TV personality Shannon Beador.

The developer claims to have 40 years of experience in real estate, which includes his involvement in the Residences at Little Nell in Aspen, Colorado, the Icon Hotel in Houston, the Sapphire Tower condominiums in San Diego and Miami and “a 5,000-acre master plan in Tuscany, Italy.”

A cancer diagnosis in 2018 forced him to the real estate sidelines, he said.

“I had stage 4 pancreatic cancer just before Covid-19,” Matteson told the outlet. “I was out of commission for two years doing chemo, radiation and surgery. I didn’t work for two years. Then Covid came, and that put everything on pause for a couple of years. During those four years, I didn’t do any deals. Nobody was during Covid, and I had my own health issues.”

Of course, developers were doing deals in 2020. That’s when logistics and warehouse development started to blow up nationwide. Millions of square feet of retail and residential projects were in development in New York city. And in the Los Angeles area, luxury residential real estate had a banner year.

Nevertheless, Matteson was convinced by a friend to meet with developers in Oklahoma City. He saw untapped potential in the second-tier city, and is convinced it is “the right place at the right time.”

Engineers have said a supertall in Oklahoma City is structurally feasible, but whether it is financially feasible remains to be seen.

The city plans to invest $1 billion in a new arena for the Oklahoma City Thunder and an outdoor stadium for the Energy FC.

—Rachel Stone