The Frost Bank building at 2402 Leopard St. in downtown Corpus Christi, which the City Council voted on Nov. 10 to purchase now that the city has reached the end of a 20-year lease-to-purchase agreement. Courtesy photo
After 20 years as a leasing tenant, the city of Corpus Christi has made a deal to purchase the Frost Bank building at 2402 Leopard St. The deal for the property, which is valued at $1.3 million, should close on July 2.
City Council approved the purchase at its regular meeting Nov. 10.
The city has had a lease-to-own deal with Frost National Bank, the owner of the four-story building. The bank will remain on the ground floor and become the lessee at a price of $3.67 per square foot. The bank occupies 41,289 square feet. The rest of the building is already occupied by the city’s Development Services Department, Fire Department, and the Emergency Operations Center.
Purchase includes the 53,000-square-foot building, the 2.67 acres of land it's on, and an adjacent 1.3 acres.
The city first entered into the 20-year lease-to-own agreement in 2000. It paid $3.67 per square foot for a total of $12,627.55 a month, or $151,530.63 a year. Council voted to pay a $1,000 option-to-purchase fee.
“City staff did a great job in prearranging and working with City Council to execute the option to purchase the building before the July 31, 2021, deadline,” City Manager Peter Zanoni said during the Nov. 10 meeting.
Headquartered in San Antonio, Frost Bank is one of the 50 largest banks in the nation. It has 135 branches in Texas. A new regional headquarters built at 599 Shoreline Blvd. opened in July 2019.
