Work on the tallest building in the US has been delayed over fears that it may pose a danger to aircraft, Archinect reports.
The Legends Tower in Oklahoma City would be 581m tall, 40m taller than the World Trade Centre in New York, the present holder of the tallest-building title.
It is designed by Californian architect AO and is being developed by Matteson Capital.
Jeff Mulder, airports director of Oklahoma City, wrote a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration warning that the proposed tower would “increase travel time” for passengers, cause “adverse changes” to departure schedules and create “safety of flight issues”.
He said the tower would increase the “minimum vectoring altitude” in the city, which would change the way planes approached Will Rogers World Airport, as well as smaller facilities such as Tinker Air Force Base, Wiley Post Airport and Max Westheimer Airport.
Mulder said his letter was a routine intervention and not directed against the project.
But the FAA has yet to respond, which is causing the delay.
Scot Matteson, Matteson Capital’s chief executive, told local broadcaster News on 6: “We’re waiting for the full report from the FAA, which we are supposed to get by the end of this month.”
He added that the tower could be “a little shorter” if necessary, although it currently has “unlimited” height approval from the city authorities.
Legends is a mixed-use development planned for downtown Oklahoma City.
It’s one of four towers planned for the Boardwalk at Bricktown development. Two of the buildings will be apartment blocks. The commercial offering will include a 480-key Dream Hotel and a 350-key Hyatt hotel.
The first phase of the project is to begin in early 2025.
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