WARREN - The company that owns the former Chase building downtown is negotiating with a company involved with the shale industry to lease at least one floor of the seven-story building.
Nick Liakaris, who is one of the partners of All Land Holdings, said they should know within the next several weeks whether their negotiations will be successful.
Bill Axiotis and Liakaris, who also operate the Mocha House and the Hippodrome Building, purchased the 56,000-square-foot Chase Tower at auction in November for $75,000.
"We took control of the building in December," Liakaris said.
Since the building's purchase, Liakaris said they have leased offices to six companies and have others pending.
"That does not include this new company," Liakaris said. "We have been very aggressive in seeking tenants for this building. We've gotten good responses. We've had interest from businesses already in the area and from outside of the area.
"We have approximately 30,000 square feet available to be leased."
The building, 106 E. Market St., was owned by Brookfield Real Estate Opportunity Fund, Bank Midwest LLC of Toronto and was managed by another company.
Brookfield, with a reputation of investing in underperforming real estate properties in North America, bought the bank building in 2006 for $572,489. The purchase was part of a larger $460 million sale in 2006 when JPMorgan Chase sold off many of its properties.
"We've been very fortunate with this building," Liakaris said. "This area is poised for a huge comeback."