The new tallest building in the United States has received approval from officials, and it is not going to be built in New York City or Chicago as you might think, but rather in Oklahoma City, a tornado-prone region with a population of only about 700,000 people.

initially saw this bold building touted as the second-tallest skyscraper in the United States. After this, the building’s creators and designers decided to start again and update their plans to create the highest structure in the nation. Since then, additional information has surfaced.

you now know that the Legends Tower will be situated next to a U-Haul storage facility and a train track on a parking lot. In honor of the year Oklahoma became the 46th state of the United States, it will soar to a symbolic height of 1,907 feet (581 meters). To put that into perspective, it will be positioned at sixth-highest in the world rankings, only behind China’s Ping An Finance Center, and will be a considerable 130 feet (39 meters) taller than the USA’s current tallest skyscraper, NYC’s One World Trade Center.

There will be three lesser buildings, each reaching a height of 345 feet (105 meters), next to the main skyscraper. There will be 1,776 residential units spread throughout all four buildings, along with an exclusive hotel.

Still, there are some issues. Although developer Scot Matteson recently announced that he has secured funding for the US$1.6 billion project, so presumably someone thinks it makes sense financially, building something so tall in a city with a population of less than a million people (or around 1.4 million if we include the entire Oklahoma City metropolitan area) doesn’t seem to make much sense.

Furthermore, there are rumors that the weather was brought up as a more urgent concern during a recent city planning meeting. Given that Oklahoma City is prone to frequent tornadoes, talking about a structure this height conjures up all kinds of terrifying images. In response, Rob Budetti, managing partner of the California studio AO designing the Legends Tower, provided assurances that engineers would surround the elevator shaft with a substantial concrete core for stability and that the skyscraper’s windows will be able to withstand a tornado’s force without breaking. In fact, the architect predicted that it will be among the safest locations to be in the case of a storm.

Ultimately, the Oklahoma City Planning Commission approved the plan. There are still a few possible obstacles, including a city meeting on June 4 to discuss a zoning change, according to an article published in The Oklahoman. All being well, though, Matteson anticipates that building on this amazing project will start by July of this year.