The American Legion bought the 19,500-sf building for $1.3 million from Robert Tiemann, the owner and broker of the building and the two acres on which it is situated. Rich Migoni of Austin-based EMC Commercial Realty negotiated for the legion.
The building at 3401 Ed Bluestein Blvd. in the east submarket more than doubles the space the legion had at its former headquarters at 709 E. 10th St. in the CBD. That building is about 8,200 sf, Migoni says.
The group bought the building because it needed more space, Migoni tells GlobeSt.com. "They've talked about moving for a long time," he says. Once the group went into the market, it landed on the former Motorola building in about a month.
The former headquarters building is at 10th Street and Interstate 35 in downtown Austin. The new building is further east, but still on a busy highway, US Highway 183, also known as Ed Bluestein Boulevard.
Tiemann, who owns and operates the Tiemann Cos., based in Pflugerville, developed and owns the building and surrounding properties. He leased the building to Schaumburg, IL-based Motorola for 20 years. The company had used the building as part of its Austin semiconductor manufacturing operations. "Motorola used it for production and distribution, but it will be used as office (by the legion)," he says.
The legion relied on members to help with the remodeling. "They've got people within the legion," Migoni says. "They've got a strong volunteer base." Member Bill Caldwell of Houston acted as general contractor on the project, according to Migoni.
The east submarket has not had independent flex space, according to market reports, but the industrial vacancy rate was 10% at mid-2002. The legion's new building is included in the northeast office submarket, where the vacancy rate was 9% at midyear.
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