The owners are asking for just under $6 million for the 19th-century property.

For just under $6 million, a piece of West Medford history could be yours.

The Usher Building, a mixed-use property located at 471 High St., is on the market. Longtime owner and local broker John Veneziano is selling the property for $5.999 million.

Dating to 1893, the brick building consists of five retail storefronts on the ground floor, eight apartments and attic space. Its name, which refers to builder James M. Usher, is prominently displayed on the top of the central tower.

Veneziano and his associate, Igor Bily, purchased the building 13 years ago and have rented out the apartments since then.

“It was something we always wanted to buy when we were young. All of a sudden, the opportunity came around,” Veneziano said. “The building has been a gem since we’ve owned it.”

This month, Bily and Veneziano decided to sell the building in order to focus on other business ventures.

“It was time to move on with other things in my life and continue to work the real estate company I own in Medford Square,” Veneziano said.

He hopes the property’s next owner will make good use of it, perhaps renovating the currently underutilized attic. However, Veneziano will leave all development decisions up to the future owner.

“It’s a cornerstone of West Medford Center and we’d like to see someone who purchases the property enjoy it as much as we have,” he said.

James Usher was an active Medford resident in the late 1880s. He started the first newspaper in town, the Medford Journal, and wrote a book about the city’s history in 1885, “History of the Town of Medford.”

According to the Medford Historical Society, the Medford Public Library was briefly housed in a room in the Usher Building in the 1860s. Today, the building is home to Nu-Way Cleaners, Bistro 5 and Two Sisters Antiques. The sale of the property will not affect any existing leases those businesses may have, Veneziano said.

Veneziano looks forward to seeing what uses and improvements will be made by the Usher Building’s next owners. So far, he has shown the property to 13 potential buyers.

“Everyone’s interested in the property, but nobody has said what they’d do with it,” Veneziano said.