The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-17

The Empire building has changed hands.
 The entire issue of common stock in the building has passed into the hands of it's new own CTS whose name has not been disclosed except that the build ing was purchased by "outside capital"
 The figure upon which the trans-'@
 action was made also hns not been
 announced. It is known. however.
 that the mortgages upon the build
 ing amount to s3Oo.OOO. The out
 standing common stock was $25O.-
 GOO and the preferred stock which
 had been issued. was $1OO.0OO. This
 mnkes an aggregate of $6JO.0O0
 worth of securities out against the
 building. This will give fairly
 reasonable basis upon which to calculate the value of the building.
 The announcement of the change of ownership is made by A. R. Dearborn & Co.,. who negotiated the deal This firm had secured options on all the common stock from individual owners to. be exercised by October l, that all of the stock has been delivered ani paid for through the First Ma tional Bank.
 This represents one of the largest transactions ever conducted in Bir- mingham business property. The com mon stock had been held largely by Birmir gham men and was distributed anlortss a considerable number of in- dividuals.
 The building is at the northwest cor. ner of Twentieth street and First ave- nue and occupies one of the four cor ners at the iuters ection of these two thoroughfares on each of which Is To- cated a modern skyscraper office balld' ing, a situation which it is claimed does not exist in any other city in the entire country.
 This is the second one of these cor ners handled by A. R. Dearborn & Co.,. this frim having sold to the American Trust and Savings Bank he lot upon which was erected that bank $ rt twenty story building in which it conducts business.
 It is estimated that the number
 of people passing in and out of
 these four buildings during each twenty-fOur hours would make n
 city, the population of which would
 he larger than that of any city in
 Alabama excepting Montgomery
 and Mobile
 yhe Empire building is of ornate architecture sixteen stories in height above the basement and constitutes one of Birmingham's most important ans impressive steel structures. It, there fore, goes without saying that the property is classed among the 'nosl valuable in the city.
 NOT SPECULATION
 MT. Dearborn advises that the prop erty has been purchased by outside capital for an investment and not for speculation and that the owners refuse to allow their names to be known in the matter MT. Dearborn represented the purchasers and H. J. Porter ST. handled the transaction for the Elm pire Improvement Company, which cor poration owned the property and ir which MT. Porter was large holder of stock.
 It is remarked as somewhat of a CO., incidence that two of Birmingham principal office buildings should be sold almost at the same time, as- suming that the present outstanding option on the Jefferson County build ing is exercised as is now believed if will be by those handling the matter
 The Jemison Real Estate and Insur- ance Company has been the rental agent for the building since it was constructed and the firm has been ad vised by representatives of the new owners that it will continue to act in this capacity under the new repime