According to Will Adams and Paul Stockwell of Studley, the owners of the staffing company, AMS, purchased the building from Kenyon Pasadena Associates for $3.84 million through the Taylor Revocable Trust. Adams and Stockwell represented the seller, while the buyer was represented by Scott Martin of NAI Capital Commercial.

The development initially was constructed as the regional headquarters for National Automobile and Casualty Co.Adams and Stockwell say the property's original design as a headquarters facility and its ample parking were among the features that made it attractive to the buyers and commanded the $183 per sf price.

The two-story building at 257 Fair Oaks Ave. was built in 1992 and is one of the newest office projects in Pasadena, where relatively little new office development has occurred in recent years except for a new project called the Pasadena Collection at the corner of South Lake and Cordova avenues. That $40 million office and retail development is a project of Los Angeles-based Champion Development and will include a four-story, 70,696-sf structural steel complex, 52,000 sf of which is office space.

The availability rate for office space in Pasadena stood at just under 15%, according to the latest quarterly reports. The city is part of the Tri-Cities office submarket, which also includes Burbank and Pasadena. The overall availability rate in the Tri-Cities was more than 21% during the latest quarter, compared with just under 20% for Los Angeles County overall.