The seller was Houston-based Broadfield Associates Ltd., which had owned the building since 1998. Wells' purchase price was not disclosed, but the Harris County Appraisal District placed a $14.2 million valuation on the building. Wells paid $20.75 million for its most recent Houston property, a 157,792-sf, two-building office property in the Greenspoint district.

The building's two tenants have long-term leases. Transocean Deepwater Offshore Drilling Inc.'s lease runs through March 2011 and Newpark Drilling Fluids Inc.'s leases go through August 2009. David Steinwedell, Wells' managing director of acquisitions, said the tenants should provide a consistent income stream to Wells' investors. The two tenants, hailing from the oil and drilling sector, "contribute to the tenant diversification strategy that we demand for our portfolio," he said.

Other Houston properties owned by Wells are the 157,792-sf complex leased to IKON Office Solutions Inc.; a 119,040-sf building leased to Boeing Co.; and a 200,000-sf structure leased to Stone & Webster, a subsidiary of the Shaw Group. Wells' other Texas properties are a 118,018-sf building in Plano and 40,000-sf building in Dallas.