By james art 
A “special situations” investment group has bought Seagate Technology’s long-shuttered computer disk manufacturing plant in Oklahoma City with plans to build 1 million square feet of warehouse and logistics space and redevelop the entire 85-acre property.
Oklahoma Property One LLC, a division of Miami, Fla.-based Flacks Group, paid Seagate $2.34 million for its 280,000-square-foot facility at 10321 W Reno Ave., in a deal by Brett Price, Carly Harper and Chris Davis with OKC brokerage Newmark Robinson Park representing Seagate.
It was once listed for $9.8 million, nearly four times the sale price.
Flacks Group had no details on its plans. Seagate did not respond to an inquiry from The Oklahoman.
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Seagate Technology’s OKC plant sat idle and empty for years
The vacant property had been on the market for years despite the pandemic-related explosion in e-commerce, which fueled demand for warehouse and logistics space. Online shopping helped spark a national and local boom in industrial construction that lasted until last year, when inflation and rising interest rates dampened it.
Despite declining demand for industrial space, Flacks Group, which owns mixed-use properties in Florida, Texas and Europe, is “very bullish on the Oklahoma City industrial submarket,” said Jordan Desnick, director and shareholder. Flacks Group is also developing condos in Florida.
“Flacks Group has 40 years of experience in acquiring ‘special situations’, distressed properties and ‘dark assets,'” the firm said in a press release. “This (Seagate) property has been offered for sale by owner … for several years without suitable offers.”
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The Old Seagate Technology plant in Oklahoma City represents a “tremendous development opportunity,” says a Florida buyer
Desnick said the property, especially since it was acquired at a “good price,” has great potential.
The site, he said, “provides Flacks Group with a tremendous opportunity to develop over 1,000,000 square feet. Flacks Group plans to build a best-in-class mixed-use industrial space that will complement the rest of the site and take it to the next level for any discerning tenant.”
The site, which was once Seagate’s regional headquarters, includes 163,000 square feet of office space, 117,000 square feet of warehouse space with 30-foot ceilings, 11 dock-height doors and more than 1,000 parking spaces.
“This exceptional property complements our real estate portfolio and demonstrates our ability to close deals that others cannot,” said Michael Flacks, chairman, CEO and founder of Flacks Group. “We see tremendous value in the Oklahoma City market, and with appropriate updates, this property will be the best industrial property in the area.”
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Florida-based Flacks Group is looking for more industrial properties to buy in Oklahoma
Desnick said plans for the property are fluid and that the Flack Group is looking to acquire others in Oklahoma.
“Flacks Group is always looking for huge assets in special situations such as older industrial buildings or land with environmental issues and legacy liabilities,” he said.
The former Seagate property is in a desirable location for an industrial user, less than a mile northwest of the intersection of Interstate 40 and N Morgan Road and less than a mile east of the Kilpatrick Turnpike.
Facilities include a commercial kitchen and cafeteria, a large break room and a training facility. Part of the office space was renovated in 2015.
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This article originally appeared in the Oklahoman: Seagate Technology sells vacant Oklahoma City site to redevelopers