PropertyShark Staff 
- Top destinations for office investment: New York City, Boston and Los Angeles
- Largest single-asset sale of the year: AXA Equitable Center in Manhattan trades for $1.9B
- Asian investment accounts for 15% of the year’s top 50 office deals
- Blackstone crowned most active office buyer of 2016
According to a new analysis released by our sister company COMMERCIALCafé, the U.S. office market had a busy year in 2016. Though leasing and sales activity took something of a breather in the past year, cooling down from the highs of 2015, there was no shortage of record-breaking or newsworthy office deals. With the help of Yardi Matrix data, COMMERCIALCafé compiled a list of the top 50 largest office deals in the U.S. to close in 2016:
| # | Address | City | Dollar amount | Buyer | Seller |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parkway Properties portfolio - 19 assets | cross-market | $1,950,000,000 | Cousins Properties | Parkway Properties |
| 2 | 787 7th Avenue | New York | $1,932,900,000 | CalPERS | AXA Financial |
| 3 | 388 Greenwich Street & 390 Greenwich Street | New York | $1,767,913,114 | Citigroup | SL Green Realty |
| 4 | Alecta US Multisector portfolio - 21 assets | cross-market | $1,700,000,000 | Blackstone Group | Alecta |
| 5 | 1285 Avenue of the Americas | New York | $1,649,000,000 | RXR Realty + China Life | AXA Financial |
| 6 | 23 assets | cross-market | $1,500,000,000 | Ventas | Wexford Science & Technology |
| 7 | 550 Madison Avenue | New York | $1,400,000,000 | The Olayan Group | The Chetrit Group |
| 8 | 10880, 10940, 10960 Wilshire & 1100 Glendon Avenue | Los Angeles | $1,340,000,000 | Douglas Emmett + Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) | Equity Office Properties Trust |
| 9 | 15 assets | cross-market | $1,162,000,000 | Equity Office Properties Trust | Hines Interests |
| 10 | 1095 Avenue of the Americas | New York | $1,152,970,000 | Hong Kong Monetary Authority | Ivanhoe Cambridge + Callahan Capital Partners |
| 11 | 63 Madison Avenue & 200 Madison Avenue | New York | $1,150,000,000 | Jamestown | George Comfort & Sons + Loeb Partners Realty |
| 12 | 1221 Avenue of the Americas | New York | $1,030,000,000 | China Investment Corporation | Canada Pension Plan Investment Board |
| 13 | 108 assets | cross-market | $969,000,000 | Workspace Property Trust + Safanad + Square Mile Capital | Liberty Property Trust |
| 14 | 1211 Avenue Of The Americas | New York | $913,623,081 | Ivanhoe Cambridge | Beacon Capital Partners |
| 15 | 34 assets | cross-market | $837,900,000 | Starwood Capital Group | NorthStar Realty Finance |
| 16 | 1150, 1201 and 1251 State St. & 3661 N. Plano Road | Dallas | $825,000,000 | Transwestern Investment Group + Mirae Asset Global Investments | State Farm Auto Insurance Company |
| 17 | 5 Times Square | New York | $800,000,000 | RXR Realty | David Werner Real Estate |
| 18 | 1 Kendall Square | Boston | $725,000,000 | Alexandria Real Estate Equities | DivcoWest |
| 19 | 7 assets | cross-market | $704,000,000 | New York State Common Retirement Fund | MetLife |
| 20 | 1 New York Plaza | New York | $700,000,000 | China Investment Corporation | Brookfield Property Partners |
| 21 | 3 Blackfan Circle | Boston | $630,424,951 | Blackstone Group | BioMed Realty Trust |
| 22 | 1250 Broadway | New York | $565,000,000 | Global Holdings | Jamestown |
| 23 | 7 West 34th Street | New York | $561,000,000 | Korea Post | Vornado Realty Trust |
| 24 | 693 5th Avenue | New York | $525,000,000 | Fimalac | Thor Equities |
| 25 | 1 Front Street | San Francisco | $521,000,000 | Paramount Group | Invesco Real Estate |
| 26 | 200 South Biscayne Blvd | Miami | $516,600,000 | Ponte Gadea | JP Morgan Asset Management |
| 27 | Colorado Center - buildings A, B,C, D, E, F | Santa Monica | $511,100,000 | Boston Properties | Blackstone Group |
| 28 | 555 and 575 Market Street | San Francisco | $510,000,000 | Equity Office Properties Trust | John Hancock Real Estate |
| 29 | 11 Madison Avenue | New York | $480,000,000 | PGIM Real Estate | SL Green Realty |
| 30 | 330 North Wabash Avenue | Chicago | $467,500,000 | Beacon Capital Partners | Riverview Realty Partners + Five Mile Capital Partners |
| 31 | 850 3rd Avenue | New York | $463,000,000 | MHP Real Estate Services + HNA | Shorenstein |
| 32 | 885 3rd Avenue | New York | $453,000,000 | Ceruzzi Properties + Shanghai Municipal Investment USA | SL Green Realty |
| 33 | 101 Seaport Blvd | Boston | $452,000,000 | Union Investment Real Estate | Skanska |
| 34 | 12181 - 12121 West Bluff Creek Drive | Los Angeles | $428,900,000 | Edward J. Minskoff Equities | JP Morgan Asset Management |
| 35 | 175 N Street NE & 150 M Street NE | Washington | $422,000,000 | MetLife Real Estate Investment + Norges Bank Real Estate Management | StonebridgeCarras + Walton Street Capital |
| 36 | 501 West 30th Street | New York | $420,000,000 | Allianz Real Estate of America | Related Companies |
| 37 | 3000 Olympic Blvd | Santa Monica | $403,000,500 | Brightstone Capital Partners | Jamestown |
| 38 | 58 assets | cross-market | $398,100,000 | Och Ziff Capital Management Group | Brandywine Realty Trust |
| 39 | 1001 4th Avenue | Seattle | $387,000,000 | GLL Real Estate Partners + Vestas Investment Management | CalPERS |
| 40 | 760 Market Street | San Francisco | $374,000,000 | Main Place Liberty Group | Thor Equities |
| 41 | 2001 8th Avenue | Seattle | $370,000,000 | Deutsche Asset Management | AEW Capital Management |
| 42 | 2700 Colorado Avenue | Santa Monica | $367,648,000 | Oracle | Invesco Real Estate |
| 43 | 2970 Market Street | Philadelphia | $354,000,000 | Korea Investment Management Company | Brandywine Realty Trust |
| 44 | 6501 Legacy Drive | Plano | $353,000,000 | Dreien Opportunity Partners | JCPenney |
| 45 | 655 15th Street NW | Washington | $352,750,000 | Blackstone Group | Boston Properties + New York State Common Retirement Fund |
| 46 | 505 Howard Street | San Francisco | $350,000,000 | American Realty Advisors | Tishman Speyer |
| 47 | 700 Hidden Ridge Drive & 600 Hidden Ridge Drive | Irving | $344,000,000 | Mesirow Financial | Verizon |
| 48 | 321 North Clark Street | Chicago | $340,100,000 | Diversified Real Estate Capital | Hines Interests |
| 49 | 51-65 Furman St | New York | $340,000,000 | CIM Group + Kushner Companies + LIVWRK | Jehovah's Witnesses |
| 50 | 14200 Shady Grove Rd | Rockville | $337,499,900 | GI Partners | BioMed Realty |
NYC Still Main Target for Office Investment; Boston, LA Complete the Top 3
The New York City office investment market continues to top the list of most attractive destinations for both national and offshore investors, accounting for $16.3 billion out of the top 50 largest deals–which totaled $37.2 billion. The Big Apple was home to 18 out of the 50 largest office deals, largely focused on properties in Manhattan. Nonetheless, one Brooklyn sale also made the list: the $340 million sale of the Jehovah’s Witnesses headquarters at 30 Columbia Heights.
787 Seventh Avenue Trades in Largest Single-Asset Sale of the Year
The largest office sale in New York City in 2016 and the priciest single-asset transaction overall was the $1.93 billion trade of the AXA Equitable Center at 787 7th Ave. in Manhattan. The 51-story tower was acquired by pension fund CalPERS from AXA Financial, for a hefty $1,179 per square foot.
Boston, Los Angeles Markets Fetch Top Dollar in 2016
Boston’s office market emerged as the second destination of choice for investors in 2016, with 3 assets fetching a total of $1.8 billion on the top 50 list: 1 Kendall Square, 3 Blackfan Circle and 101 Seaport Blvd. Following close by was Los Angeles, with 2 office deals totaling $1.76 billion: the $1.34 billion portfolio sale of 10880, 10940 and 10960 Wilshire Blvd. and 1100 Glendon Ave., followed by the sale of The Bluffs at Playa Vista.
Asian Investment Accounts for 15% of the Top 50 Largest Deals
Seven out of the top 50 office deals of 2016 were closed by Asian buyers, per the COMMERCIALCafé study, accounting for 15% of the sales volume. European investors closed 5 deals totaling $2.28 billion, while Canada-based Ivanhoe Cambridge made one acquisition worth $914 million at 1211 Avenue of the Americas. Mixed foreign and national entities and joint ventures closed 9 office deals totaling $7 billion in 2016, signaling that the U.S. market is becoming increasingly attractive to offshore investors looking for stable returns. Some of the largest transactions of the year included China Life’s $1.64 billion acquisition of 1285 Avenue of the Americas, in partnership with RXR Realty and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s $1.15 billion purchase of 3 Bryant Park, both in New York City.
Blackstone Steals the Spotlight—Again; Private Equity Giant Lands Major Deals in 2016
On top of being the most active office player on the Los Angeles office sales market, the Blackstone Group also emerged as the most active office buyer on COMMERCIALCafé‘s top 50 list. The company closed 5 separate office deals–2 of them through affiliate Equity Office–for a total of $4.35 billion across the U.S. The most notable deals checked off by Blackstone in 2016 include the $1.7 billion, 21-asset deal with Alecta, the $1.16 billion acquisition of Hines REIT’s West Coast portfolio, and the $630 million purchase of the Center for Life Science in Boston.
Read the full COMMERCIALCafé analysis here.
