Historic offices downtown are up for sale
The historic Esperson office buildings, one of downtown’s best known properties, has hit the market. The property includes the 32-story Niels Esperson structure and the adjacent 19-story Millie Esperson.
The historic Esperson office complex, one of downtown’s best known properties, has hit the market.
The owners — Contrarian Capital of Greenwich, Conn., and Houston’s Cameron Management — have listed the building with HFF five years after purchasing it and pumping some $9 million into improvements, including a major redesign of its lobby and tunnel space.
“We’re excited about it,” said Cameron’s director of marketing, Jano Nixon Kelley. “We’re proud to show it off.”
The property includes the 32-story Niels Esperson structure, which was completed in 1927 and is topped by a circular roof- top cupola supported by Corinthian columns. The adjacent 19-story Mellie Esperson building was developed years later.
Located at 808 Travis and 815 Walker, the property takes up an entire city block and has 599,107 square feet of rentable space. It has an estimated value of $70 million, or $117 per square foot, according to commercial property publication Real Estate Alert.
Cameron purchased Esperson when its vacancy rate was about 40 percent. Now it’s 62 percent.
“We’ve really held our own through the downturn,” Kelly said. “We’ve stayed pretty steady.”