Investment firm buys New Orleans high-rise

NEW ORLEANS — A California-based investment firm has bought a downtown New Orleans high-rise, the first sale of a major office building in the city since Hurricane Katrina.

Equastone, which specializes in buying, fixing up and leasing or selling commercial properties in “growth and recovery markets” around the country, paid about $50 million for the 28-story Pan-American Life building, CEO Chad Carpenter said Wednesday. He said the firm is looking at another New Orleans building as well.

The deal, which closed last week, is Equastone’s first in New Orleans. It comes at a time when the city, still feeling the effects of the 2005 storm, is eager for new investment amid continued uncertainty.

Carpenter said state and local leaders have reassured Equastone that they’re committed to rebuilding the city.

“We believe the city will be much better than it was,” he said.

The building is about 75 percent leased. Pan-American Life Insurance Co., the building’s previous owner, just signed a 10-year lease, Carpenter said, and he is confident Equastone will have the building nearly filled within the next two years.

Jose Suquet, Pan-American Life’s president and CEO, said in a statement that the decision to sell was a financial one and one that fits with its plan to focus solely on its core business.

He said the company is proud the building will continue to bear the Pan-American name and that the company will remain the building’s largest tenant.

The building, minimally damaged by Katrina, includes an eight-story parking garage, cafe and conference center and is connected to a hotel.