Expectations are high that the 223k SF Torbati Building, which was purchased recently by a partnership formed by San Diego-based Hammer Ventures, will be converted from office to residential use. The 14-story building was built in 1925 and is 50% occupied. (52% if you count any lingering 1920s-era ghosts. They don't bother anyone—they just wish more people listened to jazz in the office.) Downtown experts note that Hammer specializes in apartment, condo, and mixed-use development including adaptive reuse in urban infill locations, and the building's got the zoning already in place for residential. The Torbati Building is positioned right at the intersection of the East Village and Gaslamp residential and entertainment districts to the south, and the office market to the west and north. Colliers' Tim Cowden repped the buyer. Seller 625 Broadway Holdings repped itself.