HOUSTON-Harris County officials have given a reprieve to a 127,568-sf telecom warehouse that it recently bought for about $4.3 million. The plan was to clip the building's corner to make way for overhead lanes at the intersection of Interstate 10 and US Highway 59, but now officials are having second thoughts.

Bob Gaskins, general manager for the county's right-of-way division, tells GlobeSt.com that the 2202 Nance St. property on the CBD's northeast corner is being eyed for its lease revenue potential and added office space for the county's IT and high-tech staffs. Gaskins says the plan started to change after Harris County acquired the holding from an affiliate of Principal Financial Group of Des Moines, which took over the building last summer from RPD Catalyst of Los Angeles.

According to Gaskins, the county went for the buy after estimates showed it would take about half of Principal's asking price to reconfigure the building for the road project. With the deed now in hand, officials are reviewing whether to keep the building intact and collect rents that conceivably could double the return of the purchase price.