Bids being accepted for bank building in downtown OKC

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Apr 3, 2006 by Kevan Goff-Parker

Price Edwards & Co. sent out a message Thursday notifying potential buyers that the Oklahoma City branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City building at 226 Dean A. McGee Ave. in downtown Oklahoma City is accepting bids until April 7.

Craig Tucker, senior vice president, Price Edwards & Co., is leading sales and leasing efforts on the Federal Reserve Bank's behalf. He said Friday potential buyers need to be aware that the Oklahoma City branch of the Federal Reserve is now considering staying on as a tenant at the historic, 80,000-square-foot building, once sold.

If you are considering the purchase of the building for multi- tenant office use, you are given the option in Paragraph 3 of the Bid Proposal, of making your offer with the Federal Reserve as a tenant, Tucker said in a letter. Should the Federal Reserve stay as a tenant, it is anticipated that they would occupy the third floor for a minimum term of 5 years on an 'as-is' basis.

He said potential buyers who do not want to buy the building with the Federal Reserve as a tenant can make offers on that basis and ignore paragraph 3 of the bid proposal, or put N/A in the blanks provided.

Ultimately, the offers received will influence whether the bank stays on as a tenant or not, he said.

Built in 1922, Tucker said the Oklahoma City branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City building was renovated and doubled in size in 1962. The building was most recently renovated in 1997 with $12.9 million worth of interior and modern mechanical system upgrades. The building contains four levels of occupancy, has 40 interior parking spaces and has an employee cafeteria and fitness facility.

It is really one of the true architectural gems in Oklahoma City, Tucker said.

Spokesperson Trisha Thompson said the Federal Reserve has not yet determined where the branch will reside.

We are considering all bids, Thompson said. We haven't made a decision whether we will lease space downtown or lease the third floor. It's an option until our management determines what the best business decision is, but we do want to stay in the downtown area.