An investor has bought one of two downtown buildings collectively known as the Spokane Entrepreneurial Center, and a commercial real estate broker involved in the transaction says he expects to close a sale shortly in which another investor plans to buy the second building.

The broker, Mark McLees, of Spokane-based NAI Black, says the Lorraine Building, at 308 W. First, has sold for $975,000, although he declines to disclose the buyer’s identity.

Spokane County Assessor’s records show the buyer as Pisces Land Co. LLC, which Karn Nielsen, of Spokane, heads.

Nielson, along with Gary Fish, co-founded Mountain Gear Inc., a Spokane sporting goods retailer.

McLees says the buyer plans to continue operating the Lorraine Building under the same concept as former owner Steve Salvatori, who founded Spokane Entrepreneurial Center LLC in 2007.

The Entrepreneurial Center specializes in leasing low-cost office space with shared amenities to business startups.

The three-story, 10,800-square-foot Lorraine building has two ground-floor tenants, Envy Hair Design and Pondera Architecture PC.

The building has a total of 22 office suites on the second and third floors, where tenants include massage therapy practice Thomas J. Manson LMP MMP, consulting firm Tobby Hatley & Associates LLC, and Grant Riva Attorney at Law PS.

The Spokane Entrepreneurial Center website lists one vacancy in the Lorraine Building, a 120-square-foot office with monthly rent at $250.

The Plechner Building, at 608 W. Second, is the other component of the Spokane Entrepreneurial Center.

Salvatori, a former Spokane businessman and city councilman, put the Lorraine and Plechner buildings up for sale when he moved to Dallas recently to focus on other business interests.

McLees says he expects the Plechner Building sale, which involves another investor, to close this month.

The three-story, 9,400-square-foot building, which is listed for $845,000, is fully occupied, with 16 office suites on the second and third floors and two commercial spaces on the ground floor.