Beacon Capital teamed with Lehman Bros to take the 1.9-million-sf asset out of Jamestown's portfolio. Douglas Harmon of Eastdil was the exclusive broker for the sale.

Trammell Crow estimates that office rents have been gradually increasing as vacancy rates slowly decline and now interest rates have extended the current real estate cycle by driving yields. For investor groups, returns on real estate have continued to outperform alternative investments, such as the stock and bond markets. Until the contrary occurs, and an upward swing in interestrates could exacerbate such a shift, capital from these groups will continue to pour into real estate and drive activity. Offshore investors --mostly Australian, German, Middle Eastern and Israeli–-continue to invest here.

According to a source, the sale of 1211 Ave. of the Americas represents a longer-term play for the new ownership. Though two anchor tenants have more than one million sf sealed up until 2020 at the earliest, more than 600,000 sf of existing space can turn over in the next six years. Also, with multiple investors showing interest in the site, buyer demand here has not diminished.