Cost of Debt Remains Attractive to Office Owners

The historic Esperson is comprised of two buildings that were originally built separately.

HOUSTON—The approximately 600,000-square-foot historic Esperson is comprised of two buildings that were originally built separately in downtown: the 32-story Niels Esperson building built in 1927 and the 19-story Mellie Esperson building built in 1941. The buildings were connected in the 1950s and today encompass an entire city block bound by Walker, Rusk, Milam and Travis streets.

Due to maturing debt on the property, JLL’s Capital Markets recently secured $52.8 million to refinance the buildings on behalf of a partnership between Contrarian Capital Management and Cameron Management. MetLife Investment Management provided the loan that replaces the debt. JLL executive managing director Tom Melody, managing director Paul House, senior vice president John Ream and Associate Connor Harrell led the JLL team on the transaction.