Northstar Commercial president R. Brian Watson says the 70%-occupied building on 1601 Gillingham Lane represented something that isn't found too much in the Houston market: a high quality, distressed asset. "Compared to other major markets, Houston is one of the healthiest ones we've participated in," Watson tells GlobeSt.com. "This is a high quality distressed asset that's just a couple of years old. We don't think we'll find a whole lot of these in Houston."

Watson says Northstar Commercial is actively marketing the building, which has about 30,000 square feet of office space. Jones Lang LaSalle, which handled the transaction between Amegy Bank and Northstar Commercial, has the marketing assignment.

Though the building is being marketed primarily for lease, Watson says he won't say no to someone interested in buying it. "If a user-buyer out there is interested, we feel we can give them a very compelling opportunity," he remarks.

Prior to its foreclosure, the building was headquarters for Fingers Furniture Co. Watson says the downturn in the economy forced the decades-old company into bankruptcy, and Amegy Bank ended up taking back the property. GlobeSt.com reported earlier this year that Fingers Furniture was repositioning into the Ashley Furniture brand name. Watson says the buy was funded by a new loan from Amegy Bank, and equity that Northstar Commercial brought to the table.

He goes on to say that the goal is to stabilize the asset. In the meantime, Northstar Commercial is looking for other distressed assets nationwide, and says several are under contract. "We don't have a financial goal, we just want to build long-term value through investments," Watson says.