It might have taken three years, but some things are worth waiting for. That’s the general attitude among those involved with Brookfield Properties’ acquisition of Washington Real Estate Investment Trust’s office portfolio.
By acquiring the 12 buildings that WashREIT had put up for sale, Brookfield’s privately held real estate fund grew its office portfolio by 30% and became the largest owner of office assets in the D.C. area.
And by offloading most of its office portfolio through a single deal, the publicly traded WashREIT was able to pivot almost completely away from the precarious business of owning office buildings during a pandemic that refuses to disappear.
It’s a classic win-win, at least as long as the math on the $766 million deal ends up penciling out.
Although the negotiations between the parties started in 2018, before the pandemic, the Covid-driven office recession gave the deal a final push.
“What was going on with Covid brought sharp attention to what WashREIT…
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