A 25-year-old downtown Minneapolis office building just sold for nearly 97% less than it did about a decade ago.

Minnetonka-based Onward Investors paid $6.25 million for Ameriprise Financial Center at 707 S. Second Ave., according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, which cited a source familiar with the deal who declined to be named to protect client relationships.

The 31-story building fetched $200 million in 2016, when namesake tenant Ameriprise had around 3,500 employees working in the building and more than three years left on its lease.

But the 960,000-square-foot office tower will soon be vacant, as Ameriprise consolidates in its client service center at 901 S. Third Ave., just a few blocks away. Ameriprise spent more than $22 million on upgrades to the other building, which now serves as the company’s headquarters, making it the sixth most expensive construction project in Minneapolis last year.

Two anonymous sources familiar with the building and downtown real estate told Axios that Ameriprise Financial Center ​​sold at a bargain due to its unique challenges.

To attract new office tenants, the landlord likely would have to invest at least $70 million in upgrades, and still it would have a hard time filling the building due to the continued slowdown in office leasing, according to the pair of sources.

Jon Lanners, a partner at Onward Investors, said during an interview with the Star Tribune that the building is "sort of a blank canvas at this point" and "all options are really on the table."

That includes converting all or part of Ameriprise Financial Center into apartments or hotel rooms, but it wouldn’t be eligible for historic tax credits and its large floors are harder to convert.

"The purchase of the Ameriprise Financial Center is another demonstration of our desire to be an active participant in the recovery of downtown Minneapolis," Lanners said in a statement announcing the acquisition. "We believe that now is a great time to be investing in the city's future and look forward to engaging a multitude of stakeholders in the coming months as we re-imagine this well-known asset in the Minneapolis skyline."

Just a few months ago, Onward Investors partnered with other firms to buy the 57-story Wells Fargo Center for $85 million and a 5-story Warehouse District building for $5 million in cash. The firm is also helping to finance the North Loop's stalled West Hotel project, the Star Tribune reported.