Ad firm buys 2 floors of downtown OKC office space
Ad firm buys two floors of downtown OKC space
The Journal Record
November 16, 2007
OKLAHOMA CITY – Visual Image Advertising is in the business of creativity, and when the company went looking for a new office it wanted to find the perfect, unique space to express it.
The answer came at 125 Park Ave. in downtown Oklahoma City, which was converted to office condominium space in recent years by Precor Ruffin Properties. Precor Ruffin has sold the five-story building floor-by-floor over the past year and with the purchase of two floors by VI, the only remaining space is on the building’s lower level. The firm purchased the second and third floors, for a total of 10,000 square feet, for about $800,000 this summer.
Founded in 1989 as a media buying firm, VI became a full-service advertising firm in 1992. The company has been in about 7,000 square feet of space at 6701 N. Broadway Extension since the mid-1990s. The new space is owned by the firm’s partners Steve Sturges and Tim Berney and the firm’s vice president and director of creative operations, Steven Schwartz.
Sturges said the company has had its eye on downtown for more than 10 years.When the company originally looked at downtown buildings in the 1990s, however, the office landscape was bleak and there was little activity downtown.“We looked downtown 10 to 15 years ago and decided against it,” Sturges said. “It was a ghost town then.”A resurgence downtown, and the chance to own and customize their own space, led to VI’s decision to purchase the space at the 125 building. The two floors are completely gutted, leaving endless possibilities to design the space any way they please.
TAParchitecture has been hired to create a unique look for VI, but design plans are still in the preliminary stage.“Our vision for this space is to really give our clients, our visitors and our vendors a real feeling of excitement when they walk in the door,” Sturges said. “We want to capture the energy of our company.”The firm hopes to complete the space and move in early next year.“We want to be in here as quick as we can,” Sturges said. “But we want space that’s really going to excite people when they walk in the door.”
Mark Ruffin, with Precor Ruffin, said his company bought the building about six years ago and in 2005 decided to convert and eventually sell the building as office condo space. Sturges said he loaded VI’s 27 employees on a bus recently and took a surprise field trip to the new office space for a party.The staff was also enthusiastic about the chance to take raw office space and convert it to not only their workplace but also to create a unique visual experience.“We’re in the creative business,” Sturges said. “People get excited about having a blank canvas put in front of them.”
Steve Sturges (left) and Steven Schwartz (right) with Visual Image Advertising recently purchased two floors of office space in the 125 Park Avenue Building in downtown Oklahoma City. (Photo by Kendall Brown)
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