First Presbyterian Church buys Avanti building
BY ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The Avanti building, the southernmost building in the Kanbar portfolio of downtown office properties, was sold to First Presbyterian Church for $2.1 million.
Future plans for the currently-vacant six-story office building at 810 S. Cincinnati have yet to be determined, said Steve Caldwell, director of operations for First Presbyterian Church.
“We’re looking at different possible uses for the building, but we haven’t arrived at any final decisions,” he said.
California inventor and philanthropist Maurice Kanbar purchased the building in 2005 for $2.4 million, and was one of the 20 buildings he owned at one time, bringing his holdings to a peak of a third of all available office space downtown.
Tulsa County tax records indicate the building has a fair market value of $1.56 million.
The Avanti building is two blocks away from the rest of Kanbar’s holdings, which are clustered in one area. In Mid 2011, Kanbar Properties vacated the remaining tenants from Avanti as well as the Oil Capital building, 507 S. Main St., with officials from the company citing their low occupancy and the expense of keeping the buildings in operation.
Kanbar Properties is now known as KPM, and the local investors John and Stuart Price have purchased a stake in the portfolio.
Caldwell said the purchase of Avanti was part of First Presbyterian’s continued growth.
“We’ve been through a major expansion and renovation, and Powerhouse was part of that,” he said.
First Presbyterian purchased the nearby former Powerhouse Gym building on Cincinnati in 2008 for $2.1 million, and now uses it as a youth and worship center.
