Oklahoma City may rank as only the 42nd-largest metropolitan area in the United States, but one day it may be home to the second-tallest building in the country.

Centurion Partners last month proposed a 1,750-foot-tall tower called the Boardwalk at Bricktown in downtown Oklahoma City, combining residential, retail, entertainment venues and a hotel. Cost estimates have not been disclosed. The tallest U.S. building is the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center in New York.

Though smaller than New York, Oklahoma City is growing, with a population of about 1.4 million in 2020, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. Many of the city's largest employers are oil and gas companies, including Devon Energy, Chesapeake Energy and Continental Resources.

The Devon Energy headquarters, an 850-foot-tall building at 333 W. Sheridan Ave., is currently Oklahoma City's tallest structure.

Electric vehicle maker Tesla in 2020 considered Tulsa, the state’s second-largest city, for its new gigafactory but instead chose to locate it in Texas. A rival EV maker, Canoo, last year leased an Oklahoma City industrial property for a manufacturing plant.

The Oklahoma City Council recently approved $200 million in tax-increment financing for the overall Boardwalk at Bricktown project, which still requires approval from the city planning department. The council also approved $5.5 million in sales tax rebates.

Three shorter buildings surrounding the 134-story tower would be constructed first, and the supertall building would be developed based on demand for space in the smaller buildings, Scot Matteson, managing partner at Centurion Partners, told the newspaper the Oklahoman. Matteson did not respond to a request for comment from CoStar News.

A supertall building has specific design challenges, Rob Budetti, managing partner at AO Architects, told CoStar News. That includes engineering the structure to withstand high winds or earthquake activity, embedding a parking deck with an automated parking system and arranging the elevators.“The complexity of implementing an elevator system that can efficiently move people increases with the building’s height,” Budetti said.

AO has not previously designed a supertall building, though the firm has worked on numerous skyscrapers, Budetti said.

The Boardwalk at Bricktown tower would be located near a proposed $900 million arena for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder. The city is leading the development, with the team pledging $50 million toward the project. Voters in December approved a 1% sales tax for six years to fund the new arena, which is scheduled to open by 2029.

The new basketball arena would replace Paycom Center, which has served as the Thunder’s home since 2008 when the team moved from Seattle.

Sites for the Boardwalk at Bricktown tower and the new arena have not yet been selected, but they are slated to be located next to each other in the downtown district. The site could be near a Harkins Theatres location at 150 E. Reno Ave., according to local media reports.

The Southern California architecture firm AO recently issued renderings of the 2.7 million-square-foot supertall tower. The exterior would be clad primarily in glass, and the top features a “V” shape with a lighting element rising from the middle.

The structure would include a 480-room hotel developed by Dream Group Holdings; 1,776 luxury residential units; and 100,000 square feet of retail and entertainment venues.

Centurion Partners, based in Newport Beach, California, owns and manages industrial, retail and specialty properties in California, Florida and other states, according to CoStar data. Its largest property is a three-building warehouse complex in Santa Ana, California.

AO is the architect of record and design architect. Siemens and Thornton Tomasetti are project engineers.

Updated Jan. 10 to include comments from Rob Budetti, managing partner at AO Architects.