The title compound, C(18)H(21)N(3)O(5), was prepared by the reaction of 3-benzamido-5-nitro-benzyl methane-sulfonate with diethano-lamine and is an inter-mediate in the synthesis of DNA minor-groove-binding polybenzamide agents capable of being conjugated to additional biologically active species. The asymmetric unit contains two independent mol-ecules, which differ only in the orientations of the hydroxy-ethyl groups. In the crystal structure, inter-molecular N-H⋯O and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link mol-ecules into one-dimensional chains.