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Old Bank @ the corner of 9th and Houston


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#1 Mrbocbox

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Posted 30 October 2007 - 01:52 PM

I was leaving a concert the other night at the UFO arena in "SoDo" and noticed the inside of what appeared to be an old bank. It was very Mid-Century Modern and featured a beautiful spiral staircase in the lobby. I was with several people and didn't get a chance to investigate but apparently it is for lease. Does anyone know what this building was or plans for it. From what I recall, the outside was rather forgettable.

#2 safly

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Posted 30 October 2007 - 03:02 PM

Former WAMU bank. On the market for at LEAST 4 years. Last I heard they were asking for some ridiculous rent quote at $15K/month. Owned by a well known FW family.
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#3 John T Roberts

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Posted 30 October 2007 - 07:20 PM

Originally, it was built as Farm & Home Savings and Loan.

#4 csb93082

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Posted 22 January 2008 - 11:57 AM

The bank on the 9th and Houston is roughly 12,500 sq ft, and the owners was $20 a sq. ft, NNN. I toured the building, as we were looking at putting a bar in there, and it needs a LOT of work done to make it ready to lease. RPM Management is the contact for the building, and they will put you in contact with Gloria, who can give you a tour. Rent alone was roughly going to be 20k a month, which is incredibly high, considering what still needs to be done to the building. But on a different note, the mezzanine area and staircase are huge selling points, and the location is good. Hope that helps some!

#5 cberen1

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Posted 22 January 2008 - 05:21 PM

Yeah, there might be a lot of potential there, but that POS has been vacant for a long time just generating property taxes.

How long does an owner have to sit on a property like that before he/she comes to the inevitable conclusion that their price is out of market? Why not rent it out on short-term leases to throw off some cash?

I'm sure I'll get the standard, snotty answer along the lines of "the owners are of sufficient means that a trifling $20K a month is not meaningful." But that doesn't hold water. I know plenty of people who own property like that and most of them would be rethinking their plan at this point.

#6 76107

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Posted 23 January 2008 - 03:59 PM

There are quite a lot of buildings like that in Fort Worth, from what I've seen. The owner(s) doesn't need the money now, has a huge amount of money in the bank to begin with, and incidentally just made some cash on the sale a large asset (in this case a hotel). I know of one instance where a guy is storing his cars in a piece of prime real estate until he figures out what he wants to do with it because, quite frankly, it makes more sense for him to store his cars there than to fool with leasing it.

As far as the old bank is concerned, however, I guess I can see the reasoning behind holding out for 20+ NNN in this market. There's got to be some bank somewhere that wants to break into the market that will see 20 bucks a foot as a bargain. Compared to what the dirt's going for underneath it, it is kind of a bargain. If I were a bank, I'd be on the phone right now. I wish I were a bank. In the meantime, I'm going to see who I know that's looking to expand their presence...

#7 Fort Worthology

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Posted 23 January 2008 - 04:52 PM

QUOTE (76107 @ Jan 23 2008, 03:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
There are quite a lot of buildings like that in Fort Worth, from what I've seen. The owner(s) doesn't need the money now, has a huge amount of money in the bank to begin with, and incidentally just made some cash on the sale a large asset (in this case a hotel). I know of one instance where a guy is storing his cars in a piece of prime real estate until he figures out what he wants to do with it because, quite frankly, it makes more sense for him to store his cars there than to fool with leasing it.


That wouldn't be the old Packard dealer on 7th next to the Firestone, the ground floor of which is home to some lovely vintage Alfa Romeos for no apparent reason, would it?

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