Unico Properties Lists Final Utah Office Tower for Sale

Unico Properties is selling its last remaining office building in Utah, marking the end of its physical presence in the state. The Seattle-based firm listed the 16-story, 374,772-square-foot tower at 250 E. 200 S. for sale in early November. CBRE’s National Office Partners team is marketing the property, with brokers Phil Brierley, Cole Macadaeg, and Charley Will leading the effort.

The building, completed in 1984 and formerly known as the CenturyLink building, is being pitched to investors as a value-add opportunity. No asking price has been announced. Unico reduced its local portfolio over recent years, having sold the Boston Building and the City Centre building to the University of Utah in 2023. It also sold the data center building across the street to Dart Interests that same year.

The University of Utah serves as the anchor tenant, occupying 38% of the leased space since 2017. CBRE notes that the university renewed its lease in 2022 after reducing its footprint and staggering expiration dates. The brokers argue that the university’s return-to-office mandate, which required three days in the office starting in August, is generating new demand. Other tenants, including Forvis Mazars, Reaveley Engineers, and Stride Bank, have signed or renewed leases since 2021.

Despite the anchor tenancy, the tower holds 108,638 square feet of vacant space on contiguous full floors. CBRE identifies this vacancy as the primary investment appeal, noting that no other downtown block larger than 50,000 square feet is currently available. The brokers assert that a buyer would enter at a stabilized cost more than 70% below the price of constructing a comparable tower today.

The listing strategy relies on the scarcity of new office supply in the central business district. CBRE reports that no new office building has been delivered downtown since 2022, and nothing is currently under construction. Competing buildings average 83.5% occupancy, while Class A asking rents reached a record $40.08 per square foot in the third quarter, a 10.9% increase from the prior year.

The surrounding area has seen residential growth, with seven Type I projects adding more than 1,500 apartments within four blocks of the tower over the past five years. The rebuild of 200 South as a bus rapid transit corridor has also improved access. Additionally, the former Mountain Bell data center across the street is slated for demolition in 2027 to make way for a hotel, though no public proposal for that project has been filed.

The sale aligns with market commentary from Brierley, who spoke at ULI Utah’s Trends conference on Oct. 20. He noted that overall vacancy stood at 21.8% in the third quarter, but prime vacancy near downtown was only 6.5%. This divergence suggests that tenants are consolidating in top-tier buildings, a trend that positions 250 Tower to capture displaced demand.