Ariz. investors pay $6.3M for OKC Registry office building

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Mar 21, 2008 by Kirby Lee Davis

An Arizona private investment firm paid $6.3 million for the 93,176-square-foot Registry office building in Oklahoma City.

This represents the first of several investments expected by the undisclosed buyer, said Scott Wieczorek, an Oklahoma City managing broker with Tulsa-based GBR Properties, which sold the building.

"They'd like to own more things in Oklahoma City especially, and they would consider Tulsa as well," he said, with the target price range $3 million to $10 million. "They could easily acquire three or four more."

Registry LLC bought the two-story structure built in 1981 from 1995 Registry LP, with GBR the general partner, for $67.61 per square foot.

"That's a very solid price for a Class B office building in the current market," said Darren Currin, vice president and research director for OKC Property Research LLC. "I think it's very close to the average."

Currin said rising occupancies in the Northwest Expressway corridor have lifted values for The Registry and similar buildings.

"We've even seen some Class B properties push up to $16 to $17 per square foot, which is where Class A rates were a couple of years before," he said.

The Registry's occupancy rate stands at 92 percent, with 7,300 square feet available in various configurations, the largest contiguous space at 1,819 square feet. Common areas represent about 15 percent of the brick and steel structure at 2200 NW 50th St.

"In the current leasing environment, I would imagine those spaces would find tenants pretty quickly," said Currin.

Wieczorek considered that something of a challenge, with The Registry's occupancy divided by 45 tenants.

"It's almost predominantly attorneys, accountants ... very small tenants as opposed to large corporate entities," he said.

But Wieczorek also pointed to strong advantages from its location.

"It feels like a garden office park, three buildings connected by two courtyards," he said. "Even though it has this park-like setting, with churches in the background, it's only one block from Pennsylvania and the Northwest Expressway, which is almost ground zero for Oklahoma City's central retail."

Wieczorek not only handled the transaction, but serves as the agent of record for the buyer, according to Oklahoma secretary of state records. The latter amused Wieczorek, who suggested it represented a paperwork mistake by the buyer. GBR will manage and lease the property, as it did for the seller.

GBR, which owned the building 12 years, had recently revitalized The Registry's common areas with new paint and carpet. Outside of installing more efficient rooftop environmental system units, Wieczorek doubted the new owner would require further investment.

"It really didn't need anything beyond that," he said.