MINNEAPOLIS - KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III acquired the 40-story RBC Plaza for $118.1 million from Brookfield Office Properties.

RBC Plaza is a 678,045-square-foot mixed-use office building in the downtown area. It is located in the city's financial district along Nicollet Mall, the downtown shopping district. The first four floors of RBC Plaza make up the retail component and are part of a multi-building retail complex that spans two city blocks. The tower contains 609,368 square feet of office space and 68,677 SF of retail and amenity space above an underground parking structure. At closing, it was 83% occupied. KBS REIT III plans to reconfigure some of the existing retail space as after one of the anchor retailers closes soon . "We believe we have a great opportunity to convert some of the upper-level retail floors into creative office space, along with creating a primary entrance off of Nicollet Mall and improving the overall retail mix," Rodney Richerson, KBS regional president, says in a press release. "In addition to these improvements, we anticipate adding stronger office amenities, conference rooms, a fitness facility and some lobby renovations that will cost approximately $3 million dollars." Brookfield was represented by Tom O'Brian and Terry Kingston with Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq and Mike Winn and Tim Richey with Cushman & Wakefield/Denver. KBS has hired Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq to manage and lease the asset. Sonja Dusil will lead the leasing efforts and Theresa Elveru will lead the property management team. "The property's footprint on Nicollet Mall and its proximity to light rail transit the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport makes it a desirable place for companies to do business," says Giovanni Cordoves, vice president of asset management of KBS Capital Advisors, the REIT's advisor who will oversee management of this property. KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III is based in Newport Beach, CA and is a public non-traded real estate investment trust. KBS Capital Advisors is an affiliate of KBS Realty Advisors, which is a private equity real estate company and SEC-registered investment advisor founded by Peter Bren and Charles Schreiber Jr. in 1992.