The lights have been shut off at what used to be U.S. Central's headquarters inLenexa, Kan., but the NCUA still holds the deed to the failedcorporate's 130,000-square-foot office building at 9701 RennerBlvd.

NCUA Public Affairs Specialist John Fairbanks confirmed thebuilding is still on the market after being listed for sale in May.The asking price remains at $14.3 million.

Gregory W. Swetnam, a principal at Kansas City-basedKessinger/Hunter Commercial Real Estate who specializes in largeoffice listings, called the U.S. Central building a deal at thatprice for the right buyer, which would likely be an owner-userrelocating operations rather than an investor looking for rentalproperty.

At more than $100 per square foot, the NCUA would have tosignificantly reduce its asking price for an investor to earn aprofit after footing the bill for tenant improvement and payingoperating expenses, taxes and fees, he said. However, the listingis far cheaper than the $175 to $200 per square foot it would costto build a similar building today, he added.

The headquarters also has an owner-user layout, which Swetnamsaid includes “beautiful but inefficient” features like anexpansive lobby with an atrium, a large boardroom and an employeelunchroom.

A depression in rental rates also affects the market. Lenexa hasstruggled to fully develop its Kenner Street corridor, whichSwetnam said was developed 20 years ago in hopes of competing withnearby Overland Park's more prestigious College Boulevard businessaddresses.

“Lenexa is an industrial town, and this development was going tobring business to Lenexa, but it just didn't happen,” Swetnamsaid. The Kenner Street corridor isn't out of favor oroverbuilt, however.

Swetnam said state incentives have attracted businesses that arefilling empty buildings and putting up some new structures.Nonetheless, a number of empty office buildings roughly the size ofU.S. Central will be competing with the NCUA for potential buyerslooking to relocate to the area.

Swetnam said one of his competitors, commercial real estate firmCassidy Turley, is listing the property. He predicted the firm willbe able to find a buyer within a year, given Cassidy's familiaritywith the area.

The NCUA on Monday announced it had formally closed U.S. CentralBridge following months of transitioning its members to otherservice providers.

“Closing U.S. Central Bridge is the last step in the effort tostabilize and reform a corporate credit union system that was closeto collapsing three years ago,” Board Chairman Debbie Matz said ina statement.

U.S. Central was founded in 1974 and became the largest of thecorporate credit unions, serving as the top tier of a three-levelcredit union system, before it was conserved by the NCUA in March2009 after experiencing devastating losses on mortgage-based securities.