One of the local owners, Andrew Kasnetz, did not returntelephone calls by publication time to discuss the pending offeringfor a pair of West End properties, a 71,765-sf, five-story officebuilding and 6,900-sf structure with a 23-stall parking lot; 1516Elm St., a 25,000-sf, five-story structure built in 1900; and 2909Thomas St., a pair of two-story buildings with 5,551 sf divviedinto three apartments and retail space. It's been no secret aroundtown that the buildings, one or all, were available at the rightprice and being quietly offered to scores of condo convertersscouring downtown and Uptown for redevelopment propositions.

The decision comes at a time when the in-town multifamily markethas reached 94.4% occupancy, the second highest in the Dallasmetro, and rent is 1% higher than a year ago, one of a handful ofsectors to show some gain, Greg Willett, editorial director of M/PFResearch Inc. in Carrollton, tells GlobeSt.com. The average in-townrent is $1,161 per month or $1.26 per sf, cornering the top spot onthe metro price index.

"It's a market where new product is dominant and the reason forthe high rents," Willett says, noting 8,700 of the 11,500 units indowntown and Uptown were built in the past decade. Another 1,456rental units are rising, with deliveries coming within 18 months.Some will be good candidates for a swing to condos after they'recompleted, he says.