Downtown: UH Buys Former Olajuwon Tract

In Houston, A 17-acre downtown tract once owned by basketball star Hakeem Olajuwon has been sold to the University of Houston system for expansion of its downtown campus, the Houston Chronicle reports.

The university purchased the tract, for about $13 million, from Wellington Fisher, a group led by Rocky Stevens, which bought the site from Olajuwon a few years ago. The site is located on the banks of White Oak Bayou near the northwest corner of North Main Street and Interstate 10. UH is slated to build a science and technology building on the site.

Olajuwon, who led the Houston Rockets and UH to basketball championships, invested millions in Houston real estate, often working in partnership with Dr. Antonio Pacifico, a cardiologist. Olajuwon bought a historic bank building on Main Street, near the university, and converted it to a mosque.

In Brendan Lynch of Cbre and Rudy Hubbard of Jll handled the 17, acre sale.