GlobeSt.com

The Capital Markets Group at Cushman & Wakefield was able to complete the massive transaction amidst a deteriorating climate that shelved many high-profile assets entering the sales arena last summer. Contacted by GlobeSt.com, C&W investment sales chief Robert E. Griffin Jr. declined to provide details about the transaction, citing confidentiality agreements. Industry sources, however, say the deal is in the range of $550 per sf.

Rreef, the real estate arm of Deutsche Bank, bought into the towers in April 2000 for $337 million. Some observers maintain the firm was never comfortable with an arrangement that gave limited control over property related decisions, contributing to its decision to divest. A spokeswoman for Rreef, Cindy Talmadge, declined comment on the matter when contacted by GlobeSt.com, saying only that, "we don't respond to things like that."

Brookfield has not returned phone calls regarding the deal. The towers command some of the city's priciest rents; likely steeling the firm's confidence such that one source claims it wielded an option to keep another suitor from buying Rreef's interest. The Financial District vacancy rate is down to 8.8%, pushing rents near record levels, according to Richards Barry Joyce & Partners. The real estate services firm says select space is commanding rates close to $75 per sf, while class A asking rents are now averaging above $61 per sf.