Tallest Skyscraper In The United States Will Be Built In Unlikely Place

The tallest skyscraper in the United States could be built in an unlikely place: Oklahoma.

Real estate developer Scot Matteson plans to build the skyscraper in Oklahoma City.

Mateson initially wanted to cap the skyscraper at 345 feet but now plans to build the skyscraper to 1,907 feet, which would make it taller than the current largest skyscraper in the United States, The One World Trade Center, which sits at 1,776 feet.

Mateson wanted the skyscraper to be “iconic,” so he ditched his initial plans to cap it at under 400 feet.

Move over New York. A developer is trying to build America’s tallest skyscraper—in Oklahoma. The idea has its skeptics. “What do you see when you go to the observatory? Prairie or whatever?” https://t.co/jxfm51aStL https://t.co/jxfm51aStL

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) April 17, 2024

Here’s what the WSJ reported:

Scot Matteson’s team came before this city’s planning commission last week seeking to tweak a development he plans to build in a parking lot hard up against a railroad track and wrapped around two sides of a U-Haul storage facility.

Instead of capping the buildings at the Boardwalk at Bricktown at 345 feet, he’s now thinking one should top out at 1,907—more than twice the height of the tallest building in town, and the biggest in the U.S.

“We figure it would be iconic,” said Matteson, a California-based developer who briefly made tabloid news by dating one of the Real Housewives of Orange County.

Many offer other names for Matteson’s planned Legends Tower: The Redneck Burj Khalifa, The Burj Khaloma, The Jetsons Meets Las Vegas and Hot Pie in the Sky.

I truly hope this skyscraper in Oklahoma City gets built pic.twitter.com/1KEATRTDAN

— Frank Chaparro (@fintechfrank) April 18, 2024

Per The New York Post:

In a daring move that’s shaking up one city’s skyline, Scot Matteson is aiming for the stars with his latest development proposal — which aims to be the tallest tower in America.

It’s planned for an unlikely city: Oklahoma City.

And last week, Matteson’s team faced the scrutiny of the city’s planning commission, pitching an alteration to his ambitious project that’s slated to rise on a parking lot snug against railroad tracks, embracing the perimeter of a U-Haul storage facility.

Gone are the modest blueprints: Instead of capping the buildings at a reasonable 345 feet, Matteson now envisions one soaring to a dizzying 1,907 feet — an architectural marvel that would more than eclipse even the loftiest structures in town.

I fail to understand the economics of this building. Globally speaking, Oklahoma City is tiny. At one point they were trying to unload Devon Tower because it was half empty. How could OKC possibly support this thing?https://t.co/VAu9aXQtSp via @theoklahoman_

— Gary Andover (@andover_gary) April 12, 2024