They've already rebuilt 13 units at Pines Office Condominiums here for office use.

Eric Siegel, vice president of investment services for the company, says his company realized there is a definite need for small business offices on the Telegraph Road corridor, and in markets such as Southfield and Farmington Hills.

"We've decided we need to move from a lease to purchase set up," Siegel says, adding small business owners don't want to buy a 40,000-sf building. "There's a lot of small buildings available, such as $5-million buildings, but that's really not the product that they need."

.Many businesses are also downsizing, and looking for more affordable space to operate in the same popular market areas. He says the Pines Office condominiums are in three class-B buildings, each about 12,000 sf. His company creates 800-sf to 1,000-sf units, which small service businesses such as law firms buy for about $200,000.

"We sold the first five in 120 days, which is pretty good considering the state the economy is in," Siegel tells GlobeSt.com.

The conversion itself only takes 90 to 120 days to complete, Siegel says.

There are more units in the condominium building that still have leasing contracts. Trammell Crow will not break the existing contracts, he says.

He would like to move on to buildings in the 30,000-sf to 50,000-sf range, which could open up available office spaces from 1,000-sf to 7,000-sf. His firm has been negotiating to buy separate facilities, but haven't made any moves toward completing the sales.

"The market's just not that exciting," he says.