Work begins on Oklahoma State University's Postal Plaza

Oklahoma State University is renovating a downtown building called Postal Plaza with plans to turn it into a gallery to house the university's art collection. University officials hope to have the project completed by spring 2013.

The project is in the early planning stages, said Joe Weaver, OSU's vice president for administration and finance. University officials are working with Oklahoma City-based architect Rand Elliott to develop a design for the building, he said.

Postal Plaza dates back to the 1930s, and, as the name might suggest, it originally served as a post office. In more recent years, the building has been renovated to be used for offices. At the moment, crews are tearing out the insides of the building, he said, which left a larger, open space that is better-suited for an art gallery.

“It was sort of a labyrinth of office spaces,” he said.

For a building its age, Weaver said, Postal Plaza needs relatively little work. The mechanics of the building are outdated and the plumbing is old, he said, but the building is structurally solid.

While a design for the building hasn't been developed, Weaver said he expects it will preserve the open feel it has today. He also said university officials hope to keep as much of the original steel and brick work as possible.

Those architectural details are part of the reason the university chose the building for the gallery, Weaver said.