The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that the interim chief executive officer at Slate Office REIT is determined to get ahead of an expected flood of distressed office building sales. The Globe's Andrew Willis writes that earlier this month, Brady Welch put $120-million worth of properties up for sale -- about 10 per cent of the company's portfolio. The REIT also sold a two-tower complex in Mississauga for $25.6-million. Slate, like many commercial real estate owners, is scrambling to pay down debt taken on when interest rates were far lower and office buildings far fuller. The Toronto-based REIT owes lenders $1.2-billion. "We are trying to be a first mover in those things," Mr. Welch said on a Feb. 16 conference call with analysts. "I'm not trying to say that it's the most robust market to sell assets. We're realistic on where we are, but I think we want to be ahead of it and move forward." The price of Slate REIT's units fell by 81 per cent over the past year. Slate is well down the road on selling office properties in a weak market. Other CEOs are determined to ride out the downturn, on expectations of lower rates and an increasing number of employees returning to offices in the not-too-distant future.