Owner’s request to value converted office as sale price meets assessor’s conversion-based value

The Oklahoma County Board of Equalization heard an appeal on June 8 in which an appellant urged the board to accept a recent sale price as the 2026 assessed value for a downtown office building being converted into self-storage.

McKenna Hill, representing the appellant, said the property at 3800 North May Ave., unit 110, sold for $3,000,000 (purchase agreement provided) and asked the board to adopt the sale price for the 2026 valuation. “We just think it should have been at the sale price, which we have the purchase agreement,” Hill said, noting the sale closed on Jan. 31, 2025 and had been listed for sale for more than a year prior.

Assessment staff reviewed listing history and building permits and told the board the property has undergone a change of use: permits show work to convert an office into a CubeSmart multi-story self-storage facility, including an elevator and other structural changes. The assessor’s representative said more than a year of construction and permits occurred before January 2026 and estimated that work could justify a higher market value — the assessor’s notice value was $4,500,000 and the assessor described that as a reasonable market number in light of remodeling and projected market re-sale value.

Board members asked whether construction and the issuance of certificates of occupancy (a temporary CO in March, final CO on 05/04/2026) occurred before the valuation cutoff date (Dec. 31, 2025). Hill agreed some construction began before that cutoff but noted final occupancy documentation occurred afterward and argued the sale price should control the 2026 valuation.

Chair Eleanor Thompson closed the hearing and said the board will meet Friday to make a written decision and notify parties by mail and email.

No formal vote on the appeal was recorded at the June 8 session.