Brookfield Office Properties Inc. has sold the Newport Tower office building in Jersey City, NJ to Multi-Employer Property Trust (MEPT) for $377.5 million.
It is the largest single office asset transaction in the history of New Jersey.
Newport Tower is a 36-story, 1.1-million-square-foot class A office building located on the Hudson River in Jersey City. Brookfield Office Properties acquired the building as part of its $7.6 billion purchase of Trizec in 2006.
“This was the optimal time to monetize this mature asset, having achieved opportunistic returns for us and our fund partners,” said Dennis Friedrich, president and global chief investment officer of Brookfield Office Properties.
“During our six-year period of ownership and management, we were able to successfully lease-up, stabilize, and incorporate sustainable strategies in the building to significantly increase value.”
The property was just over 60% leased upon Brookfield’s acquisition in 2006; today the leased rate stands at 89%. The building achieved LEED Gold certification earlier this year and has an Energy Star score of 92 – placing it in the top 10% of all comparable buildings nationwide in energy efficiency.
Anchor tenants of the property include BNP Paribas and AXA Equitable.
CB Richard Ellis represented Brookfield Office Properties in the transaction. MEPT was advised by Bentall Kennedy.
