The 11-story structure sits on 5.5 acres. It will be converted - but Lutfak hasn't decided to what. "At first I thought it would make a nice hotel," Lutfak told GlobeSt.com. "It has 328,000 sf and is close to the Medical Center. I was thinking of a 280-room hotel with ballroom and lots of meeting space. The building's in good shape and it has an 18-foot ceiling on the ground floor and 13-foot ceiling on the other floors."

Meeting space is reportedly scarce in the vicinity of the busy Medical Center. But then Lutfak began to get calls from major long-term lessors looking for space, and the economics of a conversion into an office building has appeal. The new owner is reconsidering his options and has given himself until "early 2001" to make up his mind.