All Forum Posts by: Richard C

Downtown Checotah hasn't seen much commercial development in a while. There are newer buildings that replaced some that burned down a few decades ago. Some buildings have been remodeled or seen new tenants come in and open a new business. The theater renovation was probably the most noticeable change in at least a decade, since it included a new facade and building exterior and seriously changed around the inside as well.

The town did get a new Wal-Mart Super Center and a new McDonald's in 2008. Of course, these are not downtown like the theater. They are out by one of the two major highways that pass by the town. Not far from the Wal-Mart is a reasonably new bowling alley, too.

I would love to think that Walgreens or CVS would like to consider my theater, but I doubt they would want a downtown location. The building is smaller than they typically use and it doesn't have it's own parking. It doesn't really have room for a drive-through either, unless they can make the alley work as a drive through, but I doubt it. A smaller pharmacy might work, but I wouldn't know how to recruit one.

I've been trying to recruit a new theater operator for over 3 years now, but have had no luck, even with offering a lease/purchase deal. It's hard to imagine how I can get anyone's interest for another purpose that requires additional investment considering the mathematical dilemma I seem to be in.

The problem with continuing to use it as a theater is that this would also require more investment. Since I closed the theater over 3 years ago, the movie theater industry has been rapidly converting to digital projection. My theater is still only equipped for film. That conversion would also cost a minimum of $80,000 for my two screens. I didn't close because I didn't have digital projection, but it is a serious barrier for anyone interested in reopening. Then there are the traditional barriers I faced when I decided to close, inadequate revenue, stiff competition, people losing interest in going out to the movies, etc.

If anyone is interested in using the theater for any other feasible purpose, I'd be glad to hear it. But, the fact is that nobody has come forward, even though everyone in town knows it's for sale. One church did talk to me, but they lost interest. I originally listed it with a local realtor, but quickly realized he wasn't promoting it outside the local area. I've tried to do that myself, but based on results that hasn't gone so well either. I've tried talking to business brokers, but they aren't interested in helping me since the theater closed after only one year of operation and didn't have impressive sales. The value of my property is in assets and in condition. The location isn't bad as far as the town goes, it's half a black from the center of town. Being in Checotah itself causes some concern. That is one reason I can't find another theater operator. It's not as populous as some would like, and is nowhere near locations others seem to be interested in. I believed it would be big enough, with 20,000 people in the county and no other movie theater, but it didn't work out that way for me. Maybe for someone else with different and better ideas.

I'd be happy to talk to a commercial broker, if any were interested in helping me, but I've been reluctant to commit to any realtor again since it's my belief that they are likely to simply list the property somewhere and forget about it if nobody comes knocking. Do commercial brokers do any more than that? The only ones that I read that promised to do more was one who did real estate auctions. They promised to promote widely, even worldwide, prior to the auction. The problem is that there is a significant charge even if they don't sell the property. To me, a realtor shouldn't get paid unless he gets results. If I'm paying minimum's without a sale, then they shouldn't charge such high commissions if they do sell.

I'm not trying to insult anyone, I'm just skeptical that anyone will be able to help. I guess that is why I'm thinking that I may have to find a new way to make the property appealing to a buyer. It just doesn't sound like multi-family dwelling is the way to go.

I'm not thinking about artsie, uppity people or real estate development. I'm just telling you what I think the place could be... a multifamily building with a cafe in front. Cafe to me means something like a little diner or simple restaurant. It doesn't have to be upscale or based around coffee. I know "cafe" is French for coffee and may sound uppity to some people, but where I come from in Oklahoma, a cafe is just a small, humble restaurant. The facility is already there for that since the theater building has the facilities for it already without renovation, or at least not much.

I agree that contractor could help me on figuring things out, but I thought there might be someone here with ideas on whether this is a good idea or not. I think you, Bill, seem to think it's not. Fair enough.

I don't think everyone wants to rent a place in the country for their guns and dogs. People do live in apartments in Checotah. I've met several people who own a number of rent houses there. The man at the chamber of commerce who said they needed more rentals has several himself.

Would a building that cost $330,000 including conversion and generates maybe $23,000 per year in rental income be attractive to an investor? What about to someone who would "live above the store" and bring in maybe $14,000 per year in extra income from rentals, and then earn something from their small restaurant?

The town is Checotah, Oklahoma. I'm thinking based on the way the building is currently constructed and the number of A/C units and the zones they serve, that the building would work best as a 4-plex. One unit would be at the font of the building and would include a one or two bedroom unit above a cafe or retail space. There would probably be three 2-bedroom units with one small and two that are bigger. Only the one unit would face the street. The other three would face the alley, which is not the best, but at least there is plenty of natural light on that side. It's not an ugly or dirty alley, and it is used by some traffic, so it's not narrow or dark. It just faces the side of the building across the alley. I know there are plenty of places in bigger cities where a view of a brick wall is not unheard of. I think it would be like loft living. The residents would be downtown and close to cafes, a bank, the post office, a grocery store, and other businesses. I estimate the gross income would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $22-$24K per year, unless downtown living catches on, then perhaps more. I'm guessing that the conversion cost will be $50-80K. Many of the most expensive things have already been taken care of, such as fire sprinkler system, A/C systems, new roof, upgraded electrical. More electrical and plumbing will be needed, and carpentry and finishes will be needed, but it's better than starting from scratch. My ultimate goal is not to hold the property. It is to sell. Perhaps someone will want to operate a business out of the front and get rental income from the rest of the building.

Like I said, I talked to the code enforcement official. He said that it is zoned C1 which in this town allows for use as not only commercial, but also residential, multifamily residential, hotel, or just about anything you'd ever want to put in a downtown area. So, zoning is no problem. I'm wondering about physical feasibility and financial feasibility.

Hello. I'm new to BP, but I see a wealth of knowledge in this community, so I'm here to seek your advice.

I own two properties in eastern Oklahoma. I lived there a few years back and tried to be an entrepreneur. I bought an old closed movie theater in the downtown area with lots of free on-street parking. It was a distressed property and I got it for a good price. It ended up costing me a lot more than expected to renovate the building. I turned the old single screen into a more modern two screen theater. I thought I had been careful and conservative when creating my business plan, but after a short time it was better for my family if I would go back to work elsewhere for better pay and much better benefits. So, I did.

Now, I have moved away and I'm left holding two properties in that small town. I've tried to sell them, but no takers. One property was the small house where I resided. After lingering on the market, I finally decided to rent it out. That is working pretty well. I talked to someone at the chamber of commerce there who told me that what that town needs is more rental property. He says he often gets people asking what kind of places are for rent. I guess that makes sense as this town is mostly a bedroom community for Muskogee these days. It is only about 20 or 30 minutes from there.

So, over time, I've started looking at my theater building in a new light. Could it be turned into multifamily housing? It was recently renovated about 5 years ago, and I just put a new metal roof on it last week. The renovation included all new plumbing, all new electrical (600 amp service), all new heat and air (three 5 ton central air systems using natural gas heat and one 2.5 ton electric heat pump system). It also included a fire sprinkler system, insulation in the attic and walls, a new stucco facade on the front, metal exterior elsewhere, structural repairs, and more.

The building shares one common wall with the business next door, but the front, back, and one long side are in the clear, even if only the front faces a street and the others are on a clean and sunny alley and parking lot . The building is only currently about 4,050 square feet, but the auditoriums have about 18 foot high ceilings which would allow to increase the total square footage of the building to about 6,000.

I've checked with the code enforcement official and he says it is zoned C1. I asked what other uses are allowed besides commercial and he said that it can be just about anything... residential, multi-family, hotel, retail, etc. I also wondered about parking. He said that as far as he knew, there isn't any reason why people couldn't continue to use the free public parking in the area. There is a small city lot near the back of the building, and lots of on-street parking in the downtown area.

Would it be worth it for someone to convert this building to multi-family housing? I already have about $250K in the property, so the cost will only go up from there.

If you made it all the way through, thanks for taking the time to read this long post.