Hertz, once one of Oklahoma City’s largest employers, has put its call center on the market in what what would be its second big property sale since 2020, raising questions about its longtime presence in OKC.
In the meantime, Hertz isn’t going anywhere.
“Hertz is proud to be a major employer in Oklahoma City for over five decades and we remain committed to our operations there,” a spokesman told The Oklahoman. “We can confirm our building at 5601 Northwest Expressway is for sale and we are transitioning to a lease agreement.”
Hertz, which commands more than a third of the U.S. car rental business under the Hertz brand and others, is asking $16.9 million for the 200,262-square-foot combined call and data center, which takes up three buildings at 5601 Northwest Expressway.
Hertz is offering it for potential redevelopment or as an office investment, and is open to leasing back between 20,000 and 30,000 square feet of the space.
Hertz Global Holdings, formerly Hertz Corp., sold its four-story, 225,000-square-foot office building at 14501 Hertz Quail Springs Parkway to Costco on May 21, 2020, the day before Hertz filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the face of collapsed car rentals early during the COVID-19 pandemic.
RELATED: Costco savings: Buying former Hertz office building helped keep the OKC office market from tanking
The Northwest Expressway property is listed with brokerages Fleske Commercial Group in OKC and Mohr Partners Inc. in Addison, Texas. Broker Eric Fleske did not return a call and text.
Will any jobs in Oklahoma City be impacted?
Hertz was still advertising job openings at 5601 Northwest Expressway on Tuesday.
A broker familiar with the property said Hertz’ offer to lease back part of the space, which it would not necessarily occupy longterm, could be intended as an incentive for a purchaser, since it means steady rental income for an investor.
In any case, “We aren’t losing a large employer,” the broker said, estimating that around 200 Hertz employees work at the call center.
“A ton of their staff probably shifted to work-from-home here and nationwide. I would be interested to know if any OKC employees are actually being laid off. They may all be transitioned to work-from-home,” the broker said.
The number of Hertz employees in Oklahoma City could not be determined. Apparently dated information on a Greater OKC Chamber website states:
“With a presence in Oklahoma City for nearly 50 years, Hertz is one of the City’s oldest and largest employers. More than 1,400 employees in Oklahoma City support a wide range of Hertz’s operations at corporate, airport and Hertz Local Edition (HLE) locations across the metro.”
Sign Up: Weekly newsletter Real Estate with Richard Mize
Senior Business Writer Richard Mize has covered housing, construction, commercial real estate and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com since 1999. Contact him at rmize@oklahoman.com. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Real Estate with Richard Mize. You can support Richard’s work, and that of his colleagues, by purchasing a digital subscription to The Oklahoman. Right now, you can get 6 months of subscriber-only access for $1.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Hertz rental car company wants to sell a call center in Oklahoma City
Signup bonus from
