Zeller plans to convert most of the retail space to officespace, which when added to the 485,000-sf office tower, would givethe building a total of 635,000-sf of commercial space, Gearensays. While the retail section of the building is largely vacant -in part due to plans to convert much of the space to other uses -the office portion has done well, with all but four the tower's 37floors occupied. It's unclear what other changes the new landlordsmay bring to the retail portion of the building, which still has asmall number of tenants.

The purchase of the World Trade Center reinforces Zeller'sposition as one of the larger landlords in the Twin Cities. ''Weown and manage about 2.5 million sf in the Twin Cities - that isabout 5% of the office space,'' Gearen told GlobeSt.com. AmongZeller's other Twin Cities holdings are the 450,000-sf Wells FargoPlaza in Bloomington, MN, and the 341,000-sf International Center,271,000-sf Kinnard building and 380,000-sf One Financial Plaza, allin downtown Minneapolis.

As a longtime tenant in the Wells Fargo Plaza, Morrow says WellsFargo was only interested in the World Trade Center deal if Zellerwas the owner.