"The location is great," broker Joseph Levanto tells GlobeSt.com in describing the allure that led Clarendon Group to pay an impressive $628 per sf to gain control of the building. A principal at Schaeffer & Associates and veteran retail broker in the Downtown Crossing market, Levanto is especially familiar with 330-332 Washington St., having negotiated two previous sales. The seller in the latest agreement, Staffordshire Associates, had acquired the property in 2004.

While declining to discuss specifics of the building's financial performance, Levanto says rental rates in the immediate area can fetch from $120 to $150 per sf. Besides a salon on the upper levels, 330-332 Washington St. features a Kid's Footlocker on the ground floor, whose tenancy provides a slight connection to Clarendon Group principal Patrick McKillen. The prolific Irish developer is a past shareholder of a UK sportswear chain that ultimately sold to USA-based Footlocker.

The tenant roster is set for the next few years at 330-332 Washington St., and Levanto says he believes any future turnover would occur following the ongoing renovation of a major property a few doors down at 350 Washington St. being done between Gale International and Vornado Realty Trust. Slated for completion in 2009, that $700 million undertaking will yield a 39-story tower featuring nearly 500,000 sf of office space, a 280-room hotel and 300,000 sf of retail, and is expected to provide a boost for the surrounding shopping district.