New Ownership Group To Preserve Historic Oklahoma City Skirvin Hotel

A downtown Oklahoma City staple has new owners. A group of Oklahoma investors bought the Skirvin Hilton Hotel.  

This new ownership group plans to invest $15 million dollars to improve the building.  

Leaders at the Oklahoma Historical Society said these investments have helped the building stand tall for generations. 

“It is an amazing piece of architecture,” Lynda Ozan, deputy state historic preservation office with the Oklahoma Historical Society, said. 

Downtowns have their own personality and their own fingerprint of buildings -- some stand the test of time.   

“When they initially designed it, it was a 10-story building,” Ozan said.  

The Skirvin Hotel came from the brain of renowned Oklahoma architect Solomon Andrew Layton. 

Construction finished in 1911 with many renovations over the decades.  

“It was the most prominent hotel in the town,” Ozan said. 

If those walls could talk, Ozan said they’d say a lot about Oklahoma politics. It was a popular place for politicians to meet. The hotel's notoriety has not aged.   

“Through time it has always maintained that reputation,” Ozan said. 

New ownership creates new opportunities to improve and maintain this piece of Oklahoma’s downtown identity.  

Mark Beffort, CEO of Ortus Hotel Investment said in part, “We are honored to be trusted caring for one of Oklahoma City’s finest historical assets.”  

Governor of the Chickasaw Nation Bill Anoatubby said "We appreciate the opportunity to partner on this project with Mark Beffort who is well-respected in this arena and has a proven record of sound investments in historic and commercial properties.”  

The building carries an alter ego.