Potential buyers of the landmark Key Building in downtown Akron are being invited to tour the property Thursday.
The 11-story building, which is nearly 70 percent vacant, will be auctioned online beginning Feb. 25.
Rockwood Real Estate Advisors will be showing the 1911 property, by appointment, on Thursday, in advance of the public auction on the Auction.com website.
Jack Hannah, with Rockwood Real Estate in New York City, declined to say how many potential buyers have inquired and scheduled appointments for a tour. Hannah said the showings would be closed to the media.
The starting bid is $600,000, and the seller reserves the right to accept or decline the final bid. The reserve price is not being disclosed.
The auction is to begin at noon Feb. 25 and end at noon Feb. 27, according to Jon Murchinson, with Auction.com, headquartered in California.
The building at 159 S. Main St. lost two major tenants in 2011 and was foreclosed on last year.
Large tenant White Hat Management moved its offices in 2011 to nearby Main Place, an office building constructed in 1992. White Hat is one of the state’s largest managers of for-profit charter schools.
Also in 2011, Cleveland-based KeyBank moved out, opening a new branch and regional headquarters one block south on South Main.
Together, KeyBank and White Hat occupied about 40 percent of the building that boasts about 160,000 square feet.
Last June, the bank that foreclosed bought it back at a sheriff’s auction, making a “plaintiff bid” for the property. That means no cash was paid. At the time, the property was appraised for roughly $9.5 million for tax purposes.
The building now is owned and managed by a Bethesda, Md., real estate company that handles so-called distressed properties. The property was owned by a group of local investors at the time of the foreclosure.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.
