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Brookfield’s deal to sell 777 Tower in Downtown LA collapses
Consus pulls out of $145M trade for nearly half-empty office building
A photo illustration of Brookfield’s Brian Kingston and 777 South Figueroa Street (Getty, Brookstone, Google Maps)
Brookfield Properties’ deal to sell 777 South Figueroa Street, a 1 million-square-foot office tower in Downtown Los Angeles, has fallen apart, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Consus Asset Management, an investment firm based in South Korea, pulled out of a deal to buy 777 Tower for $145 million. Commercial Observer first reported that the transaction fell apart. It’s unclear why Consus pulled out and the firm could not be reached for comment. Brookfield did not respond to a request for comment.
Brookfield defaulted on $319 million in loans tied to the 52-story tower last year, after rising interest rates squeezed profits from the building. The firm put the property up for sale in the fall.
Sources previously told TRD that Brookfield scored at least 15 offers on the tower, which is almost half empty, after putting the property up for sale last fall.
The Consus deal, which was set to close at about $145 a square foot, would have marked another benchmark for office sales in Downtown L.A., an office market that has been plagued by defaults, landlords cutting and running, high vacancy and low trades on a price-per-square-foot basis.
In December, Carolwood, run by Adam Rubin and Andrew Shanfeld, bought the 1.1 million-square-foot AON Center at 707 Wilshire Boulevard for $147.8 million, or about $134 per square foot, in a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.
Earlier this month, developer Izek Shomof bought 617 West 7th Street, an office building in the same area of Downtown L.A., from the Swig Company for $20.5 million, or $94 a square foot. Swig had bought that property for $38.8 million in 2011.