The 3232 McKinney St. property went to a Houston couple, Barbara K. and W.I. Moore III. Christopher S. Klein in Colliers International's Houston office tells GlobeSt.com that he helped the local seller, NA Land Co., buy the 25,514-sf warehouse last year, but knew the prospect of a re-sale was possible so he showed it to the Moores.

Built in 1909, the structure was previously used as a switching facility by Southwestern Bell. The half-acre asset sits in the shadow of the downtown's skyscrapers and just east of the George R. Brown Convention Center. Demand for East End properties has pushed up prices to $20 per sf to $25 per sf "whereas buildings in the East End were selling for between $10 per sf and $15 per sf 12 to 18 months ago," says Klein, who has three other buildings under contract in the area.

Klein says a tenant on a month-to-month lease has vacated and asbestos abatement has begun. The new owners, represented by Jerry Reel of John Byerly Properties in Houston, plan to convert the building into residential use.