The new owner is Seligman Western Enterprises Ltd., an affiliateof Detroit-based Seligman & Associates Inc., the highest offerof at least 10 that rolled in for the Niels Esperson Building at808 Travis St. and Mellie Esperson Building at 815 Walker St. andtheir 600-space parking garage at 806 Rusk St. The no-ask offeringwent from marketing to closing in 90 days, drawing mostlyout-of-state investors to the chase. "It speaks to how muchattention Houston is getting from investors on a national level,"says Doug Wiley, executive director of Denver-based Amstar.

Wiley says Seligman had a clear-cut advantage on the buyingfield because it has a historic office building in its portfolio."They did bring a lot of certainty to close because they have oneof these in San Francisco," he says. "They were the rightbuyer."

Wiley tells GlobeSt.com that the 75%-leased Esperson Buildingshave less than a 15% annual roll in leases for the next threeyears. The upshot is Seligman can tag team on the upside by fillingthe 25% vacancy and getting market rates from rolling below-marketleases. As the acquisition pushed toward closing, Wiley says rateshad increased 20%. "They will get to immediately recognize higherrates in a fully renovated and well-maintained iconic asset in anextremely hot market," he stresses.