New Firm Purchases 156,000-SF Office Building

Paul Ahern, a principal of Tandem, says the company also brought in a tenant. PromoWorks, a marketing services company headquartered nearby, agreed to lease 60,000-sf for 10 years for $24 per sf, gross. He tells GlobeSt.com that the firm looked at six different buildings in the community, but chose this eight-story building for its new corporate headquarters. "We also assumed the company's current lease at 550 Remington for one year," Ahern says. " They will start moving into the building in early March."

He says he thinks Tandem got a good price for the building, at about $103 per sf. "The buildings next to it at 150 and 200 N. Martingale, connected to our building by a parking garage, were bought by KBS a couple years ago for $185 per sf. But they were fully leased at the time," Ahern says. The PromoWorks lease pushed the 300 N. building to 97% leased, he says.

Ahern says he's pleased to be partnered with Leopardo, and said things could be going better with his former employer, with which he's pursuing a defamation lawsuit. Ahern was dumped by the company in April 2005 without much explanation, at least at first, though later press releases alleged irregularities with expense reports. Ahern filed a lawsuit to dispute that claim, and tells GlobeSt.com that he was forced out in a leadership fight with chief executive officer Michael Mullen. "It became personal," Ahern says. "We'll be in court for a long time." CenterPoint officials could not be reached for comment.

Jack Reardon and Mark Smith with CB Richard Ellis represented Tandem in the sale. Paul Lundstedt with Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, JP Morgan Investment Management Inc.