$65 Million: Downtown Esperson Buildings For Sale: Whisper Number

The historic Esperson buildings feature a decorative grand tempietto. The buildings are near the new Bank of American Tower. Photo credit: Ralph Bivins.

In Houston, Contrarian Capital’s historic Esperson Buildings in downtown Houston are slated to draw offers around $65 million in a new effort to sell the buildings, reports Real Estate Alert.

JLL has the listing for the combined 509,000-SF properties.

The property includes the 32-story Niels Esperson Building, built in 1927 at 808 Travis. It has been described as the “only full-blown example of Italian Renaissance architecture in downtown Houston.”

The adjoining 19-story Mellie Esperson Building, 815 Walker, is an Art Deco office tower completed in 1941.

The Esperson buildings, which are tunnel connected, are 66 percent leased. Late last year, it was reported the Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom law firm leased 42,000 SF in the Esperson project.

Overall, the Houston office market has its soft spots, but new buildings have been leasing up briskly. The owners of older office buildings respond by spending millions to renovate.

It’s all part of what real estate industry people call the “Flight to Quality.” Corporate tenants, which compete to attract the best employees (or talent), strive to have prime office buildings that have offerings that make outstanding workplaces.

“We continue to see firms that value their employees as assets looking to relocate to new developments to ensure employee satisfaction, allowing these companies to attract and retain top employment talent,” said office leasing expert Chip Colvill of Colvill Office Properties, which leases a number of downtown buildings. “The new developments offer a higher quality environment, greater amenities, more efficient floor plans, better elevatoring, superior parking, etc. causing these new developments to be in high demand,” Colvill said in a recent interview.