Norges Bank Investment Management, an arm of the central bank of Norway, has reached an agreement to purchase a 45 percent interest in 601 Lexington Avenue, along with equal shares in two Boston properties, from real estate investment trust Boston Properties for $1.5 billion in cash.
Norges Bank is also picking up an equal interest share in Boston’s Atlantic Wharf Office Building and 100 Federal Street as part of the deal. Following the agreement, Norges Bank and Boston Properties will form a joint venture for each of the three properties, with the latter retaining property and leasing management.
The 1.6 million-square-foot Class A office building complex at East 53rd Street in Midtown rises 59 stories and also includes a six-story low-rise office and retail property. The managing partners will consider a redevelopment and repositioning of the low-rise component in the coming years, according to Seeking Alpha. Currently, the property is 99 percent leased. [Seeking Alpha] — Julie Strickland