He Has Faith in Real Estate Auction

It’s no secret that the last few years have been tough on commercial property owners, with vacancy rates rising and property values falling. It’s no secret, either, that times have been tough on some televangelists--just ask Messrs. Bakker and Swaggart.

Now it appears that Oral Roberts has been caught between the worst of two earthly worlds--declining donations and a worsening real estate market. As a result, Roberts has asked Prudential Real Estate Affiliates to auction off his ORU City of Faith Complex in Tulsa, Okla.

That is the fabled medical and office development where he made his 1987 plea for $4.5 million after saying that God would call him home if he didn’t raise more cash for scholarships at his nearby university.

Dick Sudduth, marketing director of Prudential Properties of Oklahoma, said the minimum bid for the 2.3-million-square-foot complex is $1 million. Brokers say Roberts doesn’t have a prayer of getting the $150 million he paid to build the project in 1981. One reason: a 90% vacancy rate.

The development has a lot to offer the real estate faithful. Its three towers stretch 20, 30 and 60 stories into the heavens, and the complex boasts a gym and cork-surfaced jogging track.