Price Tower, the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed skyscraper ever built, is set to be auctioned through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy sale in early May.
The iconic tower on the Oklahoma prairie is expected to have a minimum bid of $1,539,287, according to a statement from Cushman & Wakefield/Commercial Oklahoma. Scott Schlotfelt, managing director for Cushman & Wakefield/Commercial Oklahoma, is overseeing the auction process.
The sale should attract "significant interest," Schlotfelt said in the statement. Bidding opened on Monday and the auction is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 6, in the Northern District of Oklahoma in Tulsa. The winning offer is subject to approval by the bankruptcy court, and qualified bidders must submit an offer before the end of business on April 28, an earlier date than the brokerage had said on Monday.
“This is a pivotal moment for the Price Tower,” Schlotfelt said in the statement. "We are committed to ensuring that the next owner is someone who recognizes its historical and cultural value and will lead it into a vibrant future.”
The 19-story vacant tower along Dewey Avenue in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, a city almost 50 miles north of Tulsa and about 150 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, has been in limbo ever since the property's owners, Copper Tree Inc. and Green Copper Holdings LLC, filed for bankruptcy in January. The bankruptcy filing came after an Oklahoma district judge ruled for the landmark property to sell in a previously struck $1.4 million deal to McFarlin Building LLC, and it kept the judge’s order from moving forward. The property is now tied up in bankruptcy court.
McFarlin Building is led by John Snyder, who redeveloped the Mayo Hotel in Tulsa and converted the Triangle Building in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, into a hotel.
Cynthia Blanchard, who leads the ownership entities of Price Tower, declined to comment. Schlotfelt told CoStar News he expects global interest in the property because of its architectural significance.
In a statement about the bidding opening to real estate investors, Schlotfelt called this a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to "acquire one of the most architecturally significant buildings in the world." Bids for Price Tower are for all the real estate, assets and personal property associated with the tower, the statement said.
Pat Malloy, an Oklahoma lawyer, is supervising the auction as the bankruptcy trustee. A stalking-horse bid of $1.4 million has been placed by McFarlin Building LLC.
The tower opened in 1956, three years before Wright's death, as the headquarters of H.C. Price Co. during Bartlesville's heyday catering to the oil and gas industry. It was used as a boutique hotel and office building for years before closing in September.
Price Tower's ownership entities in the bankruptcy proceedings had hoped to revitalize the tower and transform it into a beacon for the tech industry, but those plans were never realized. The sale could bring a new owner with redevelopment plans to the table.
Updated April 1 to reflect that the brokerage changed the date of when bids must be submitted.