Public Square’s big-ticket greening, updating and newfound popularity may shape the future of a 22-story office building bordering it that Optima Management Group has started to market for sale.

The Miami Beach-based property owner has listed 55 Public Square for sale, potentially as a redevelopment property with CBRE, said David Browning, the real estate brokerage’s Cleveland managing director. Browning also confirmed prior reports that CBRE has a listing to sell the AECOM Building, 1300 East Ninth St. “Optima made a huge (financial) commitment to Cleveland,” Browning said. “Right now is probably a great time to bring some things to market. With 55 Public Square’s location and the renovation of the square, we’re very excited about being involved with it. We’ve had a lot of interest, both from the usual local suspects and capable local groups as well as regional and out-of-town developers.” If Optima succeeds in unloading the properties, it may be able to execute the classic play in real estate: buy when few are buying and sell when prices are climbing. However, changes in office building fundamentals due to the trend of office downsizing and slow office-job growth may make that difficult. Optima also will have to see how much a developer wants to pay for a building such as 55 Public Square that needs substantial repairs as well as the expense of converting it to residential use. AECOM Centre, which has some vacancy, will have to find an owner willing to work on the property and not just collect rent checks, always a bigger challenge in the Midwest than on the coasts. An affiliate of Optima paid $34 million for 55 Public Square in 2008. That is a big number to beat to essentially rebuild the property. Another Optima-linked firm paid $46.5 million for AECOM in 2010. Alec Pacella, managing partner of NAI Daus, said selling each building will take some hard negotiating. “Big picture, it’s a good time to sell. The national spotlight is on Cleveland with the Republican National Convention,” Pacella said. “It’s a good time for Optima to recycle some capital. 55 Public Square has a great location as an apartment conversion. AECOM also has some vacancy. It’s hard to get paid for vacant space. Sellers can get paid as much as possible for leased space, but getting paid for empty bricks and sticks means finding a different kind of value. Which building will be easier to sell? It’s hard to say.” Pacella pointed out Optima is not marketing its One Cleveland Centre office building. “That’s no surprise. It’s their best performing building,” he said. Continued ownership of One Cleveland and a big stake in the Westin Cleveland make it technically incorrect to say the low-profile, media-shy Florida investor is exiting Cleveland. Chaim Schochet, Optima’s Cleveland investment executive, did not return three calls about 55 Public Square and has left a total of seven calls unreturned this month. The 55 Public Square building, once the home of the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co., which now is part of FirstEnergy Corp of Akron, dates from 1958 and signaled what is regarded as the beginning of Cleveland’s modern office building era. It was the first multitenant office building erected with air conditioning in Cleveland. Its vintage also means that it may qualify for federal and state historic preservation tax credits to help finance renovation and conversion expenses.