BALTIMORE-The city's oldest office tower is to be converted into a residential apartment building under its new ownership.

JK Equities LLC has acquired the 225,000-square-foot building for $7.2 million from Equitable Holdings Trust. The new owner plans to redevelop the office building for residential use, specifically 180 apartment units. Delivery of the new apartments is scheduled for March 2015, according to the Baltimore Business Journal. The building was built in 1891.

The building is approximately 50% vacant and most office tenant leases will expire before the conversion begins, according to Leo M. McDermott, who represented Equitable Holdings Trust in the sale. Existing first-floor retail tenants will remain at the property after the conversion.

“With all the other adaptive reuse buildings available for conversion downtown, it took some time to find the right party who was confident in converting the building for apartments,” McDermott says. “JK Equities has a lot of experience doing a lot of conversions in New York and Chicago and a lot on the west coast as well. These guys love historic properties and I'm sure they'll do a top-notch job.” See story in the Baltimore Business Journal.