Bank confirms it entered winning Claim Jumper bid

(Park Record) The business entity that placed the winning bid on the Claim Jumper building on Main Street in a late December trustee's sale is a subsidiary of the bank that was the lender on the historic property, an official with the bank has confirmed.

In an e-mailed statement to The Park Record, Van Storm, who is in the commercial real estate division of MidFirst Bank, said the business entity, which is known as CSA 10-573 Main LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the bank.

It seemed apparent that the business entity had some ties to the bank just after it won the Claim Jumper with a $5 million bid, the only bid entered during the trustee's sale. The business entity and MidFirst Bank, as an example, share the same address in Oklahoma City. MidFirst Bank had assigned its interest in the trust deed on the building to the business entity on Dec. 24.

In the e-mailed statement, Storm said he foresees the bank selling the Claim Jumper. He said, though, MidFirst Bank does not have a schedule for a sale. Storm said a buyer would probably be someone interested in redeveloping the building with condominiums on the upper floors, a restaurant on the main level and a bar or lounge on the lower level.

"MidFirst appreciates the historic importance and beauty of the Claim Jumper building and is confident that the ultimate purchaser will complete the building in a way that will be a source of community pride," Storm said in the statement.

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