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Downtown Portland’s inventory of creative office space may be about to expand.

According to John Gibson, director of KW Commercial‘s Portland office, an unidentified local developer is in escrow to purchase the Baggage and Carriage Building at 133 S.W. Pine St. Gibson declined to name the developer, but said the plan is to convert the three-story, 28,500-square-foot former warehouse into a mixed-use, creative office building.

The structure, built in 1886 to hold baggage of travelers arriving by ship, still features old timber beams and exposed brick walls popular among today’s creative tenants. Redevelopment of the building, however, would require a seismic upgrade. Gibson this past June estimated the cost of such an endeavor to be as much as $3.55 million.

According to Kidder Mathews, the price spread between traditional, Class A office space and historic, Class B creative space in the central business district is narrowing, with some creative spaces actually garnering higher rents. That could spell opportunity for historic structures like the Baggage and Carriage Building, because while Portland’s office vacancy dropped last year to 9.3 percent, professionals at Melvin Mark have estimated vacancy for creative space at 5 percent or less.

Gibson was listing the Baggage and Carriage Building for $1.95 million. It’s owned by Concept Real Estate LLC, which is affiliated with local developer John Plew. His Concept Entertainment operates the Venue 126 nightclub, the building’s only tenant, on the ground floor.

Gibson said the buyer is conducting due diligence on the property, and that the deal is expected to close in approximately 30 days.