Brookfield set to pay $190M for NYMEX’s LoMa tower

Brookfield Office Properties is in the final stages of acquiring a 16-story tower next door to its Brookfield Place (formerly the World Financial Center) office and retail complex, Crain’s reported. The Toronto-based real estate investment trust will likely pay north of $190 million for the 560,000-square-foot property.

The building, at 1 North End Avenue, is partially occupied by New York Mercantile Exchange and is owned by the commodities exchange’s parent company, CME Group. Brookfield is likely to make the building the fifth tower in Brookfield Place and consolidate control over the western edge of Lower Manhattan’s office market, several sources told Crain’s.

“It’s a natural fit, it’s contiguous to the development and for them to control it makes a lot of sense,” Edward Minskoff , a principal at Minskoff Equities who was not involved in the deal, told Crain’s.

As part of the deal, NYMEX will remain a tenant in the property, but will significantly shrink its presence, leaving Brookfield with roughly 300,000 square feet of vacant space, according to Crain’s.

The REIT may also look to convert some of the lower-level office space at its namesake complex for other uses, such as retail, as The Real Deal reported.  [Crain’s]  – Hiten Samtani