After months of inactivity, the former Fairpark offices of the Stanford Financial Group are seeing the light of day again.
The building, at the corner of East Main and South Commerce streets in Tupelo, is on the auction block, along with other SFG properties across the country. The sale does not include Fairpark Salon, which is privately owned.
The auction does include property formerly owned by James Davis, Stanford’s chief financial officer and a native of Baldwyn. Davis’ property up for auction includes the ForeFront Golf facility in Baldwyn and seven properties in downtown Baldwyn, including the building that housed The Status Thimble and Davis Holdings.
The auction is being held by Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed receiver who took possession of Stanford’s assets after company’s top executives were charged in $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
Proceeds from the auction are aimed at returning as much money as possible to investors who held Stanford International CDs that proved worthless when the financial empire collapsed in 2009.
The Fairpark office, which used to house offices for Davis and Stanford Chief Investment Officer Laura Pendergest-Holt, has been vacant since the SEC shut it down Feb. 17, 2009.
The papers and computers are long gone, but the interior of the building points to some of the opulence of its former owners.
The main lobby of Stanford’s offices in Fairpark is tiled with green marble. The walls have wood paneling and there are wood accents throughout the building.
Stone is used as a wall accent behind the former receptionist’s desk, which still has the Stanford name mounted to the wall above it. An ornamental railing with brass accents graces the staircase to the second floor.
Ten offices and multiple conference and break rooms are spread throughout the two floors.
The rooms were emptied of their furniture, fixtures, decorative accessories and electronic equipment late last year by Office Liquidators of Colorado, which won the bid from the receiver.
Along with the Stanford Group offices, the 20,000-square-foot building at 110 East Main St. has about 10,000 square feet of unfinished space. It also houses the financial company Edward Jones on the first floor, in addition to Fairpark Salon.
Kim Miller and Sharon McDaniel own the salon, which is not included in the sale.
Keith Henley, one of the real estate agents for the property, said the space leased by Edward Jones is part of the sale, but he expects a lease understanding to be written into the sale that will allow the business to stay.
The buildings are up for sale in a stalking horse auction, which is being coordinated locally by Henley and Tommy Morgan of Coldwell Banker Tommy Morgan Realtors.
“It’s not like standing on the street corner with auction cards,” Henley said.
The “stalking horse” phase of the auction currently is open. For this phase – which does not have a minimum bid – parties submit written bids for the building, the bids are verified and then the winner – the stalking horse – is selected, Henley said.
The stalking horse’s bid sets the threshold for the public auction. For example, if the stalking horse bids $1 million on the Fairpark property, a bidder in the public auction will have to submit a higher figure.
If the public auction gets a bid that beats the stalking horse, the receiver will give the stalking horse 3 percent of his or her bid as compensation.
“We have a couple of interested prospects circling,” Henley said. “We anticipate some offers in the next week or so.”
Henley said there aren’t specific dates for deadlines. He expects the entire auction process, from marketing to negotiating the closing details, to take about 90 days.
He also expects an investor – not the end used – to buy the Fairpark property.
Henley, a former Downtown Tupelo Main Street board member, said he hopes the buyer can see the potential for the building. If it were his building, Henley said he would keep the Stanford offices as professional space and add a retailer or a restaurant to the first floor.
He would transform the vacant space on the second floor into luxury lofts and condos.
Stepping out onto one of the balconies, he pointed around downtown and cited the views that would be perfect for parade-watching. He also cited its location in the Fairpark District.
The downtown location is one of the perks that got Miller’s attention when she was looking to relocate from the Crosstown area. Now, the Fairpark Salon has been in the building for four years.
“We love the location,” she said. “It’s easily accessible. We’ve really enjoyed being down here and being a part of it. It’s been a positive move for us.”
But as nice as the building is, the auction comes down to finding a buyer with the available capital.
The economy has whittled down the field of candidates, Henley said.
“In this economy, we’ve told our contact that if we receive three or more bids, we’d be very fortunate,” he said. “I think that it stands to reason that a bidder that is selected as a stalking house has a very good chance of being the person that ends up with the property.”
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