Former Lucent Plant put on the market
What a challenge...leasing this baby out. Looks like a tough chore over the next few years! Too bad Lucent couldn't keep it! I doubt it will become a single plant again, but there's always a possiblity.
What do you guys think....should they look for one company to lease it or should they subdivide it? Personally, I think space of this magnitude needs to be sold, not leased. But, it would sure be a boost to our local economy if we could find a major corporation to lease the space. I'm glad that Dell chose to locate on the Oklahoma River, but we need a company like Dell to fill this vacant space.
I'm just sad that manufacturing plants are becoming a thing of the past in the United States.
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"Sizable challenge: CB Richard Ellis takes on the challenge of leasing out the mammoth former Lucent Technologies campus
By Mallery Nagle
writers@okcbusiness.com
A few years ago, Lucent Technologies employed 10,000 people in its nearly 2 million-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility which sits on a 193-acre campus at 7725 W. Reno.
Today the buildings remain, but the employees are gone and the doors are closed, the result of a 2001 deal with Celestica, a Toronto-based electronics manufacturer, which shut down operations at the plant.
Local developers Terryl Zerby and Ron Ward purchased the property in July and are working with a team from CB Richard Ellis in search of a renter.
And although the search for the right occupant has gone international, the universe of potential clients is limited, given the size of the property.
“The largest industrial contract ever signed in the United States was less than 1 million square feet,” said Tom Lange, a broker/associate with CB Richard Ellis, who is on the team handling the property. “The size is extremely large and there are not a lot of companies that need that much space.”
Zerby, however, is optimistic.
“We acquired the property as a real estate investment. We think it has immense potential,” he said. “The building is of exceptional quality. There is nothing similar in the four or five state region, and there is nothing like it in Oklahoma.”
He said he suspects that the space will eventually be subdivided among several tenants.
The manufacturing facility, built in 1960, is more than 1,190,000 square feet. It includes about 230,000 square feet of office space, a dining facility, an auditorium and a data center. There is about 140,000 square feet of warehouse space, featuring nine dock high doors with levelers and an automatic storage and retrieval system. The office space has fiber and network capabilities and is “plug and play” ready, according to CB Richard Ellis.
The warehouse, built in 1996, consists of 323,940 square feet with 30 feet of clear height, 35 dock high doors and a drive-in door with a crane. The grand total of space at the facility is about 1.8 million square feet.
Other amenities include a 100 percent climate controlled environment, an extensive materials handling system, proximity to I-40 and access to the Union Pacific Railroad, an immaculate laboratory manufacturing area, a state-of-the art fire alarm and voice evacuation system, manual pull stations for HAZMAT and medical emergencies and a safety network complete with audio/visual signal service, heat detectors, smoke detectors and sprinkler riser flow switches.
“There is nothing wrong with the building,” said Jim Austin, also of CB Richard Ellis. “It is not functionally obsolete. Lucent closed because of competition. This was their flagship facility and they kept it modern,” he said.
Austin said two or three companies have already been “serious” and have gotten to the negotiation phase, but chose other alternatives. He said Dell Computers even considered the space, but decided to build its own facility. Other companies have opted not to locate in Oklahoma City at all.
“The activity has exceeded my expectations,” Zerby said. “I’m very pleased with the activity.”
CB Richard Ellis has been using its international contacts and the team of brokers has tapped into its network of professional alliances.
About 50 direct mail pieces are sent each week to keep the property in the forefront of people’s minds.
The real estate professionals have produced a four-minute video, and teams from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, ONG, OG&E and the City of Oklahoma City use the video on industrial recruitment trips.
The building is a stop on area familiarization tours for industrial site selectors.
“It (having the building occupied) would really be beneficial to the community,” Austin said.
Larry Stanphill, another member of the CB Richard Ellis team, acknowledged that an economy moving away from a manufacturing base to a service-oriented environment did not make for a “favorable market” for the property, but the brokers remain optimistic, as well.
“It’s a large chunk of space,” Austin said. “But it’s the finest building of its type available.”
“We will lease the facility,” Zerby said. “It’s just a matter of when and to whom.”
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