OKC Real Estate Briefs Nov. 12, 2004

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Nov 12, 2004 by Ted Streuli

When the former Montgomery Ward building at Heritage Park Mall went on the auction block in late September, the winning bidder was as anonymous as a good bank robber. Earpiece in place, an unrecognized someone did the bidding, outlasting the couple of players and laying claim to the building for $880,000. That looks like a bargain if you consider that the county assessor's office had fair market value set at $3.75 million, but practical uses for a white elephant department store shell are limited.

No one at the auction recognized the bidder, and those present included a couple of dozen in-the-know folks, like Midwest City Economic Development Director Dave Burnett and a posse from Leonard Sullivan's office. Only Tulsa auctioneer Eric Johnson had a name, and he wasn't giving it up. The rumor mill put odds on a buyer to be named later from Edmond.

Right they were. The warranty deed finally passed through the assessor's office, and it doesn't even bear some vague partnership name like Old Empty Store Partners LLC. The deed went to Edmond residents Ahmad Bahreini and his wife, Shakiba Nasser. Baherini owns at least 28 properties in the metro area, most of them residential.

Bequest-rian

It hasn't closed yet, but watch for the sale of the late George Olin Kleier's 66-acre spread at 5201 E. Hefner Road. The assessor has Esperanza Farms down for $742,298, but word is that the contract's for $1 million. Kleier, who died Nov. 7, moved back to Oklahoma after a 27-year career as senior vice president and corporate counsel for Donrey Media. The OU and Tulsa Law alum retired in 1993 and used the time to pursue his passion for racing thoroughbreds. Kleier left the farm, which includes a 9,553-square-foot house and 4,136-square-foot barn to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. After expenses, the museum expects to see about $800,000 from the sale of the property, which they'll use to pay down indebtedness. The museum issued bonds in the early 1990s to pay for a $17 million expansion.

But that's not all - Kleier also left the museum a pair of racehorses. Voladora (Spanish for flying) was Oklahoma's champion older mare of 2001. She was 6 years old at the time and had won 20 races in 51 starts. Value of the horses has yet to be determined.

Overlooked, underbooked

The folks at Sperry Van Ness think Edmond businesses have missed the boat as the 11-acre ChapelRidge Commercial Park sits waiting for a developer.

The 11 lots for sale in the park range in size from .54 acres to .96 acres. All parcels in the park may be purchased together at an asking price of $1.5 million. Prices for the interior lots begin at $65,000 and the only lot with 15th Street frontage is priced at $249,000. A four-acre rectangular tract with frontage on Fretz Avenue is also available and has a price tag of $395,000.

Jason Little at Sperry was blunt in a press release quote: ChapelRidge Commerce Park unfortunately has been overlooked in our most recent wave of development.