Dayton CBD Asset Heads For Auction Block

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

A Dayton office building with upside potential getting ready to to hit the auction block.

111 West First Street

CBRE announced this month that it has been hired to sell the Class B office building at 111 W. 1st St. in an online auction scheduled for August 27. The opening bid will be $295,000. An initial earnest money deposit of $30,000 is required in order to participate at the auction.

CBRE Auction Services, the owner of 111 W. 1st St., an unnamed private equity firm, considers the building a non-strategic asset, said Douglas Johnson, managing director of CBRE Auction Services. The 161,164-square-foot property is located at the intersection of 1st and Ludlow Streets, in the northwest quadrant of the Dayton CBD, with access to I-75 and SR 35. At the moment it is only 23 percent occupied; tenants include Fifth Third Bank, Agnes Grill and the law firm of Doll, Jensen & Ford.

The property’s low occupancy offers a potential investor the opportunity to optimize space requirements for new tenants, as well as the flexibility to negotiate rents, according to CBRE. In a recent report, DTZ said that the Dayton office market absorbed 37,658 square feet in the second quarter, mostly in Class B buildings. Vacancy has decreased in the past two years and currently sits at 24.5 percent. The overall average asking gross rental rate was $14.56 per square foot in the second quarter, compared to average Class B rents of $13.45 per square foot. DTZ expects rents to remain flat in the near future but also said that continued activity could trigger long-term rent growth.

Photo credit: CBRE