NEW ORLEANS-Joseph and Eddie Hakim, local commercial real estate developers, have bought the 378,895-square-foot 1340 Poydras St. in the CBD. The buyers acquired the asset, formerly known as the Amoco Building, from Petra Real Estate Opportunity Fund for $14.5 million.

According to William J. Sitar and Douglas J. Sitar of Iselin, NJ-based Sitar Realty Co.-TCN Worldwide, the buyers liked the location of the office building, which is across the street from city hall and next to the Louisiana Superdome. The Sitars, who represented the buyer in the transaction, tell GlobeSt.com that the Hakims also liked the potential upside based on 32% occupancy. To that end, the new owners are working on building upgrades, beefing up management and leasing the vacant space.

Records show that Petra Real Estate had acquired the building in early 2012 for $18 million. The 21-story, 280-foot-tall building was built in 1977 and offers office space with a small amount of retail space on the ground level.