Brookfield bags controlling stake in California Market Center for $440M

Brookfield Office Properties scooped up a controlling stake in California Market Center, one of L.A.’s biggest apparel showrooms, in a deal valued at nearly $440 million.

Brookfield plans to reposition the 1.8 million-square-foot center for companies outside the apparel industry by incorporating creative office spaces, according to Bert Dezzutti of Brookfield. The CMC is the longtime home of fashion, apparel and trade events as well as one of the largest wholesale marts in the region, with more than 1,000 showrooms across three interconnected 13-story buildings.

Its new partner, Jamison Realty,  paid $135 million for the center in 2004, according to the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the deal.

The complex is approximately 50 percent leased.

Brookfield is the largest Class A office landlord in Downtown L.A., with 8.6 million square feet of office space in addition to the CMC. Its other properties include Bank of America Plaza, Figueroa at Wilshire and 777 Tower. [LAT] — Subrina Hudson