RCS Pays $59M for Cincinnati Tower

November 27, 2025

Investment Cincinnati Midwest News More Office

This is the first transaction of the year involving a central business district office property.

Exterior shot of First Financial Center, a 32-story office tower in downtown Cincinnati. — The 32-story high-rise includes first-floor retail space and is subject to a ground lease. *Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix*

Real Capital Solutions has acquired First Financial Center, a 31-story office tower in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio., for $59 million.

Tolis Advisors sold the 553,659-square-foot property, according to Yardi Matrix. The asset last changed hands in 2020 for $64.2 million.

The acquisition represents the first central business district sale and the largest office transaction of the year in the metro, according to the same source.

Executive Managing Director Tom Powers with Cushman & Wakefield brokered the transaction, Cincinnati Business Courier reported.

Real Capital Solutions expanded its national footprint with this transaction, which is part of a $1 billion office strategy, as the company targets distressed properties with strong repurposing potential. The news comes as RCS made its entry to Connecticut in September, with the purchase of Stamford Towers. CBRE Investment Management sold the 332,000-square-foot office property.

Located at 255 E. Fifth St., First Financial Center has access to multiple bus and light rail stations, as well as to interstates 71 and 75. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is 13 miles away.

Completed in 1990, the Class A building features 28,623 square feet of first-floor retail space and 15 passenger elevators, while its amenity package consists of conference facilities, on-site cafes and a seven-story parking garage with 1,233 parking spots. The property is 91.7 percent leased to 17 tenants, including headquarters of First Financial Bank, Chemed Corp. and Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.

Cincinnati prices dropping

Year-to-date through November, there were 20 office properties changing ownership in Cincinnati, generating $104.5 million, with assets selling for an average of $67.88 per square foot, according to Yardi Matrix. So far, Cincinnati office properties traded at more affordable prices when compared to the same period last year when 18 assets sold for a total of $180.9 million, or at an average sale price of $100.18 per square foot.