First National Center

[Pete]

BTW, the bankruptcy isn't the only lending hurdle for Yashouafar.

Remember he is still under indictment for allegedly defrauding a condo HOA group in Las Vegas.

[BoulderSooner]

BTW, the bankruptcy isn't the only lending hurdle for Yashouafar.

Remember he is still under indictment for allegedly defrauding a condo HOA group in Las Vegas.

yep .. i don't see anyway he gets the 12 mil

[Pete]

Not to mention he's defaulted on just about every other loan he's been given and is in serious debt.

AND the property is getting ready to lose it's main tenant in Devon.


Who is going to loan $12 million to this guy for this property in it's current state??

[hoya]

That Main Street garage is now privately owned.

The City is looking at adding parking structures around the perimeter of downtown but none would be very close to FNC.


If they purchase price is low enough, the owners could replace some of those non-historical buildings in the middle and east sections with a parking structure. I know this has been evaluated in the past.

They could always buy the Main Street garage, or make some sort of joint financing agreement where the new First National owner agrees to guarantee X number of rental spaces for Y number of years. As long as its physically possible to add floors to the Main Street garage I don't see a problem.

[BoulderSooner]

They could always buy the Main Street garage, or make some sort of joint financing agreement where the new First National owner agrees to guarantee X number of rental spaces for Y number of years. As long as its physically possible to add floors to the Main Street garage I don't see a problem.

i doubt it is possible to add floors

[Pete]

I'm sure if this fell back into the lender's hands that the OKC Economic Development Trust would partner with them to find an appropriate new owner, while at the same time helping to marshal resources for redevelopment.

[Pete]

The woman that led the Skirvin project for the city now runs the Economic Development Trust.

If this property once again goes into limbo -- for about the fifth time in the last 20 years -- I bet they'll seize the opportunity to help make something happen here that will work in the long term.

[Pete]

Her name is Cathy O'Connor. Should have looked that up before I called her "the woman".

Hopefully she gets the chance to work similar magic with the FNC.

[bombermwc]

I'm 100% with sid...and been saying it for years. I honestly feel the city is this building's only hope for salvation.

[Pete]

The current owners have until May 27th to come up with the $12 million.

If their m.o. holds -- not just for this property but virtually every other one they have owned -- they will file some other motion and this still won't be resolved by that date.

I hope that's not the case but I'm prepared for that to happen.

[Just the facts]

The current owners have until May 27th to come up with the $12 million.

If their m.o. holds -- not just for this property but virtually every other one they have owned -- they will file some other motion and this still won't be resolved by that date.

I hope that's not the case but I'm prepared for that to happen.

Then they have come to the right city. They should get in touch with OCURA. That will buy them at least 3 years.

[Spartan]

I predict we will still see Yash leave the scene by end of this year.

[Midtowner]

The current owners are running it into the ground. Rents have doubled or tripled for a lot of tenants. There are serious problems with the building being accessible, e.g., the bathrooms are between the floors and the water pressure has issues. There's also a big problem with a lack of a parking garage. To rehabilitate that property, parking is going to have to be meaningfully addressed.

That said, I'd love to office someplace like that if the price was right. Unfortunately, it isn't.

[Spartan]

They may need to switch to unisex bathrooms. The problem is that floorplates are pretty small in the tower (albeit, larger than City Place), which is why the bathrooms have to alternate. So either you keep this major deficiency, dedicate a larger portion of your already-small floorplates to basic amenities like bathrooms, or you switch to unisex.

This building has a lot more problems than just that. A lot of these problems start and begin with the current owner, although some have been passed on from owner to owner. There is absolutely no way around the fact that FNC has had a brutal few decades lately, but I think it's important for anyone delving into all of its problems to also acknowledge that there's a general consensus that we have to save this building.

[Swake2]

Why not convert some existing floors into parking, like 3-10 and put in a car elevator. You have nothing but extra space in the building and a couple of car elevators have to be far cheaper than a new garage.

[GaryOKC6]

Why not convert some existing floors into parking, like 3-10 and put in a car elevator. You have nothing but extra space in the building and a couple of car elevators have to be far cheaper than a new garage.

You may be more correct than you think. I was at a luncheon 2 weeks ago with several commercial real estate speakers. They mentioned the posibility of tearing out the section in the middle of the block and building a parling garage that would serve the structures on both ends.

[Pete]

Yes, that option has been evaluated in the past.

If someone can buy the property for a good price out of foreclosure, perhaps something like that would finally be financially feasible.

[Rover]

There are some strong recommendations emerging on this thread. Perhaps the new owners would consider a wiki project on reuse of the building. I know of some really successful wiki projects.

[ljbab728]

An update by Steve.

http://newsok.com/lender-endorses-en...financial-news

[ljbab728]

I'm really not sure if this is good or bad news.

http://newsok.com/first-national-cen...rticle/3671856

[kevinpate]

I think it depends on whether one favors inertia or one favors forward movement. This seems to favor inertia.

[Pete]

They say they have arranged for the $12 million if the bankruptcy is lifted.

We'll see on May 27th.

[Just the facts]

They say they have arranged for the $12 million if the bankruptcy is lifted.

We'll see on May 27th.

Is Washington Mutual back in business?

[Pete]

The last news on this property that the present owners had to come up with $12 million by May 27th, otherwise it would go into the hands of a receiver.

May 27th is this Sunday and there has been no news as of yet.


I find it very hard to believe anyone would lend this group that kind of money in general, let alone for a property that probably isn't worth anything near that.

I just hope this doesn't get delayed yet again, and there is some sort of resolution this week.

[Bailey80]

The last news on this property that the present owners had to come up with $12 million by May 27th, otherwise it would go into the hands of a receiver.

May 27th is this Sunday and there has been no news as of yet.


I find it very hard to believe anyone would lend this group that kind of money in general, let alone for a property that probably isn't worth anything near that.

I just hope this doesn't get delayed yet again, and there is some sort of resolution this week.

http://journalrecord.com/2012/05/24/...e-real-estate/

The Chapter 11 case has been dismissed, but their lender has agreed to give them another month to find somebody willing to lend them the cash. Will they come up with the money? Who knows.