21-02-2025
Housing could be a potential addition to the former Chesapeake campus sale
Expand Energy is rebooting its effort to sell the majority of the former Chesapeake Energy campus in northwest Oklahoma City that will include 35 acres of raw land, which has drawn interest from housing developers.
Travis Mason, who has spent the past few years brokering the property on behalf of Cushman Wakefield, is joining up with Walker Ryan, whose firm Collier's brings in an international client base.
Brooke Coe, spokeswoman for Expand Energy, said the sale coincides with her company consolidating into Building 15 on the southeast corner of the campus. The company is also retaining the building with lab space and a garage to the north of Building 15, which is undergoing renovations.
The company is also retaining a day care on the campus.
Ryan called the campus 'unique' in that it consists of both a more collegiate style set of buildings on the west half and more traditional modern office buildings on the east half. Restaurants, fitness space, outdoor trails and creeks are scattered throughout campus, which the company's former CEO, Aubrey McClendon, developed as a way to recruit top talent.
McClendon, who died in a 2016 car crash, also developed upscale retail nearby including Classen Curve, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
More: Expand Energy reports loss in third quarter profits, but $407 million adjusted net revenue
At its height, the company employed about 5,000 at the headquarters before falling natural gas prices and steep debt led to layoffs and bankruptcy in 2020.
'We are not a real estate development company, and as we did with Classen Curve and Nichols Hills plaza,' Coe told The Oklahoman, 'we are committed to finding the right buyer to ensure the campus remains an integral part of the community for generations to come.'
The brokers are not disclosing a listing price. All together, the available footage for sale totals about 1.4 million square feet. Both Ryan and Mason believe the property will be easier to market in 2025 than it was during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
'We're going to tackle this from a local and national level,' Ryan said. 'It could be sold in maybe one or two pieces, so the value of the whole thing could be different based on how which buyer proceeds on the different opportunities.'
Mason said some of the largest real estate developers recently toured the campus and gave encouragement as to prospects for a successful sale that will provide quality neighbors that will fit with Expand Energy.
'This one developer said, 'You know, Travis, most times when we tour a headquarters there are one or two 'wow' moments. On this tour we had seven. You can travel all across the United States and have a campus such as this, with it such as it is, the way it has been maintained, and there are a lot of things to get excited about.'
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Expand Energy relaunches effort to sell former Chesapeake campus in OKC
