Dean A. McGee Awards honor Dick Tanenbaum

Photo by Rose Lane, OKC Friday

The Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership celebrated three distinguished business and civic leaders on August 23, 2024, during the 37th annual Dean A. McGee Awards, recognizing their remarkable contributions to the downtown community.

“This year’s honorees exemplify the vision to dream big,” said Co-Chairman Ellard. “Their achievements will have long-lasting significance for downtown continuing to be a destination for future generations to enjoy the arts, live, work, and raise a family.”

Co-Chairman Couch added, “The leaders we honor this year have helped shape and mold today’s downtown for all of Oklahoma City to enjoy. Whether a person lives, works or is visiting downtown, you can see their mark on making the greater downtown area an exciting core to our city.”

Dick Tanenbaum, CEO of Gardner Tanenbaum, received the 2024 Dean A. McGee Award in recognition of his lifetime contributions to Oklahoma City’s downtown community. Under his leadership, Gardner Tanenbaum Holdings selected downtown as its global headquarters and has been at the forefront of revitalizing the area. Notable projects include the recently announced The Harlow apartment development, which will transform the historic Tradesman National Bank Building (built in 1921) and the Medical Arts Building (built in 1924) into luxury apartments and retail spaces, all while embracing a 1920s Hollywood theme and the history of the space.

This project will convert 202,000 square feet of vacant office space into 265 luxury Class A apartments, complete with robust amenities for residents. Additionally, Tanenbaum recently broke ground on Convergence, a mixed-use project in the Innovation District that connects downtown with the Health Sciences Center.

Tanenbaum introduced downtown’s first luxury residential apartment building by revitalizing the iconic Montgomery Ward Department Store, which had sat vacant for decades. This transformation created a vibrant community on the western edge of downtown, spurring further economic development, including shopping and fine dining options. He also rejuvenated a 1950s office building into a colorful apartment complex through a $20 million renovation focused on historic preservation.

The Park Harvey provided an affordable downtown lifestyle for upwardly mobile professionals. Tanenbaum is also a major investor in key cultural institutions, including the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, the Myriad Botanical Gardens, Scissortail Park, and the historic hotels The Skirvin Hilton and The Colcord.

You can read more about the award on OKC Friday.