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Auction for Frank Lloyd Wright-designed tower postponed until 2025

Decision comes during litigation between potential buyer and Price Tower's ownership group

Frank Lloyd Wright's only realized high-rise building was completed in 1956 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. (CoStar)
Frank Lloyd Wright's only realized high-rise building was completed in 1956 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. (CoStar)

An auction expected to sell a piece of architectural history to the highest bidder has been postponed until the new year.

The ownership group of Price Tower, the only realized Frank Lloyd Wright-designed skyscraper, pulled the property from a scheduled auction this week that had already been postponed from October, according to the broker. The iconic 19-story tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, was listed on Ten-X, an online platform owned by CoStar Group, with a beginning bid of $600,000.

The auction is being rescheduled until the first quarter of next year, said Scott Schlotfelt, managing director with Cushman & Wakefield, who represents Price Tower's ownership group. Schlotfelt is working with Ten-X on the listing.

The rescheduled auction comes as litigation continues in an Oklahoma district court between the current ownership group of Price Tower, led by Cynthia Blanchard, and McFarlin Building LLC, a development company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, led by John Snyder. In court documents, McFarlin Building has asked the court to force the Blanchard-led ownership group to convey Price Tower to them for $1.4 million because of a contract the parties signed in May.

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8 Min Read
October 03, 2024 06:04 PM
The sale of Price Tower on the Oklahoma prairie is caught up in a new lawsuit as an auction is delayed involving the rare property designed by the famed architect.
Candace Carlisle
Candace Carlisle

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Blanchard's attorney John Farley III of Helton Law Firm said in court documents filed last week that Blanchard denies a legal contract exists between the two parties.

Snyder and his spokesperson did not immediately comment on the litigation to CoStar News on Monday. Blanchard deferred comment to her broker, Schlotfelt.