Scott Broshar and Christy Perros, co-owners of Absolute Title, will move the company into their new building on West Liberty this spring after buildout is completed.

Angela Cesere | AnnArbor.com

Absolute Title Co. of Ann Arbor will have a new home this spring after its owners bought the former Masonic Temple building on West Liberty.

The deal is the second half of a two-part transaction in which organizers of a new high school for autistic students bought the title company’s headquarters at 410 S. Maple.

The title company wasn’t looking for a new building, said co-owner Christy Perros, and the building wasn’t on the market.

However, Absolute also wasn’t utilizing the full 12,000 square feet, Perros said, after staffing fell to about 11 - only about one-third as many people as the company employed in 2003 when it moved into the building.

So when brokers from Swisher Commercial approached Perros and co-owner Scott Broshar about showing the building to representatives from the under-development Veritas Christi High School, the pair agreed.

“(They) thought it was perfect for the school,” Perros said. “Once we decided we were serious about selling, we went looking for a building about half of the size.”

What they found was the 7,000-square-foot former Masonic Temple building, located at 2875 W. Liberty.

The organization had moved out and planned in 2005 to develop the property into an office complex. But those plans fell apart, and the building was listed for sale with John Evans of Swisher Commercial, with an asking price of $895,000.

The building sits on 4.65 acres on West Liberty, west of the I-94 overpass. It comes with plenty of parking, Perros said, and some increased visibility for her company. The previous building is next to Kroger on North Maple, but without road frontage.

“We aren’t a business that attracts a lot of walk-in business,” Perros said. “But it was a challenging place for customers to find.”

The new property also is a good long-term investment, she added, since it still offers expansion or development potential.

The building requires some work to bring it up to office standards, Perros said. The Masons - now meeting at The Grotto Club, 2070 W. Stadium Blvd. - owned it since 1977.

Absolute is working with Bona and Kolb architects, Jay Holland Construction and designer Betsy Slusser of Innerspace for the interior buildout.

The work will take about three months, so Absolute should be making its move by spring.

The title company needs to be out of its former building by mid-April so plans for the new high school stay on track.

The deal was serendipitous, most involved with it say. While the Absolute building wasn’t on the market, it ended up a perfect fit for the school. And the Absolute owners say their move fits their company well, too.

Bringing a deal like that together wasn’t easy on any front, the brokers say.

It involved patience, confidentiality and financing on both sides, said Charlie Koenn, who represented the school in the deal.

It also took several months before the closing was scheduled in late December - on the same day, three hours apart.

“It was rather nail-biting through a lot of the process,” Koenn said. “But it eventually came together … and it’s a great opportunity for both.”

Paula Gardner is Business Director of AnnArbor.com, where she covers real estate and development. Contact her by email or follow her on Twitter.