Eschelon Telecom Inc., a CLEC headquartered in Minneapolis, today set the price of its initial public offering at $14 per share.

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that price was lower than the originally expected $15-$17 range. Eschelon likely will close the offer on Aug. 9.

Eschelon says a portion of the 5.36 million shares will go toward the companys debt. The CLEC and its shareholders have given underwriters a 30-day option to buy an additional 803,571 shares.

Eschelon was scheduled to start trading today on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ESCH.

Lehman Brothers Inc. and Jefferies & Company, Inc. are serving as joint book-running managers of the offering. UBS Securities LLC is acting as a joint lead manager.