Investors to submit bid for CA building

The $5 million-plus offer joins the University's bid to buy the site at the heart of campus. It's been on the market since the beginning of 1997 and a large "Sale or Lease" sign has blanketed its Locust Walk fa_ade for the last eight months, but now there are indications that the Christian Association building may have finally found a buyer. A group of four investors is poised to make a bid to the CA for the property at 36th Street and Locust Walk, according to Gil Brenner, who is representing the potential buyers. Brenner is the chief executive officer of Impact, a marketing and public relations firm that has rented space in the CA building since early 1995. The bid is expected to be in the range of $5.2 to $5.5 million, Brenner said. The investors plan to formally present the bid to the CA in approximately two weeks, after final appraisals are made regarding the expected costs of planned renovations to the facility. The consortium is planning to spend between $750,000 and $1 million on "significant internal improvements" to the 76-year-old building. Brenner cited plumbing repairs and installation of an elevator as two high priorities. Brenner would not identify the investors by name, but said that they are "independently wealthy individuals." He added that the four come to the group from high-ranking positions at Nation's Bank, Wells Fargo, GE Capital and Westminster Capital -- all large financial services corporations. "They're semi-retired and they've got piles of money and they're looking for investments," Brenner said. "There will be a bid," he added. "I don't know if we'll win but there will be a bid." While CA Executive Director Beverly Dale refused to comment, CA Board of Directors Chairperson Eric van Merkensteijn said he was pleased to hear that a new offer for the building was forthcoming. "I can't wait to see it," he said. This outside bid comes on the heels of months of disagreement between the CA and the University, which has expressed a strong interest in buying the property in the middle of campus. Last October, the CA quickly rejected what van Merkensteijn labeled an "embarrassing" $3 million offer from the University. The CA had been asking $8 million for the property, though sources said the organization soon after lowered their price for the 29,000-square foot building. Van Merkensteijn said that the CA is "semi-seriously considering" a subsequent offer from the University, though he declined to comment on the details. But Executive Vice President John Fry, speaking for the University, indicated that negotiations have not progressed very far. "We've had a longstanding offer to them that is very fair," he said. "Nothing has happened. We simply don't understand why they haven't responded to us." Brenner said he is only acting as the link between his investor "friends" and real estate representatives of the CA and does not have a personal stake in the deal. "I don't have experience buying buildings," he explained. "I'm just putting the two groups together." Jack Lawlor, a real estate agent working for the CA, refused to comment on the building's status. Brenner also indicated that a lot of internal changes would be in store for the building if his group's bid is accepted. While whoever purchases the building will be obligated to respect the existing leases of the Palladium and the Gold Standard, Brenner said that the building would house the present CA, offices for Impact and space for nine other tenants. He added that some space would be set aside for mentoring programs to help disadvantaged children in the community and other service-based initiatives. Brenner said that parts of the building could be used to generate untapped revenue for his investors, including an auditorium which would host speeches and presentations. "[The present owners] are not generating the revenue they could," he said. "They're nice people but they don't have keen business sense." Brenner said that the investors, who did not want their names revealed to the press, will be visiting the site on Friday. "Of course they want to see the plumbing," he said. Van Merkensteijn said he is confident that the sale of the building is definitely in the works. "Either the University or some other group will purchase the building," he said, explaining that the CA wants to sell the building to increase the ministry's funding by turning "bricks and mortar into money."

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