Chesapeake Plaza Goes Up On The Market
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Four years after a celebrated move-in, Chesapeake Energy may be moving out of its 20 story tower in west Fort Worth.
A real estate company with Chesapeake as a client revealed Monday that Chesapeake Plaza hasn't sold yet, but has been on the market for a few weeks.
Several sources also told CBS11 Chesapeake has been looking to sell the building it paid more than $100 million for in 2008.
Chesapeake moved into the building with fanfare when it purchased it from a then-struggling Pier One Imports. It restored the distinctive lighting to the building's v-shaped peak, which Pier One had turned off.
That was at the height of the natural gas boom. Since then gas prices have fallen from a high of $13 to just over $2. Chesapeake is in the process of selling up to $14 billion in assets to cover its costs.
It cut its local rig count in half in January to focus on more profitable liquid plays. The local workforce has dropped from 1,200 to 800 in the last year.
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, who has been working to position the city as a shale gas capitol, said any struggles for a business are concerning, but she doesn't think they're permanent.
"I think it goes with the cyclical turn in the economy and the lower gas prices and I believe it'll come back,�� she said.
Chesapeake's Vice President of Urban Development Julie Wilson said in an email to CBS11 that the building isn't listed for sale. She followed by writing "As with any property we own in North Texas -- or anywhere else, for that matter -- we are always willing to entertain an offer!"
The Tarrant Appraisal District valued the campus for tax purposes this year at just over $62 million.
