OMAHA-One of the downtown’s most notable office buildings, the 11-story Farm Credit building, will be turned into a 106-apartment complex with retail on the first floor. Now mostly vacant, the 157,000-square-foot building was recently purchased by NuStyle Development Co. for more than $2 million.

The building, sold by Eureka, CA-based Security National Properties, was emptied when Farm Credit Services of America moved out eight years ago. The sale includes a seven-story parking garage, with 583 spaces.

Jon Pesce, VP of development for the locally-based Seldin Co., says the building is one of the victims of the tough office market in the city’s CBD. “This was one of the premier office buildings back in the day,” he tells GlobeSt.com. “However, now the vacancy rates in the business district are higher than 20%.” He and Kevin Rhodes represented both the buyer and the seller in the recent transaction, which took place five months after the property was put on the market.

Todd Heistand of NuStyle has reportedly said the project could be finished by August, with apartments for rent from $700 to $1,000 per month. His company is one of the city’s top multifamily developers, and has completed projects such as the $25 million TipTop redevelopment in 2005, which included 96 apartments and 55,000 square feet of retail. The firm also completed the Old Market Lofts and Ford Warehouse building projects in Omaha.