Three investment firms bought the Bank of America Plaza at Las Olas City Centre in downtown Fort Lauderdale for about $220 million, marking the second major office sale in the city this week.
Lone Star Funds, through its real estate fund VII, Highline Real Estate Capital and Square2 Capital bought the 23-story building at 401 East Las Olas Boulevard, according to news releases from Lone Star, Square2 and the brokers. The releases didn’t provide the price, which was confirmed by sources familiar with the deal.
The deal marks the largest office sale in Broward County in the past decade, according to the Lone Star and Square2 releases.
The 410,600-square-foot tower was completed in 2003 on a 2.4-acre site that spans a full city block, according to the releases and records.
The seller, an affiliate of Rreef Property Trust, a subsidiary of German asset manager DWS Group, had paid $220 million for Bank of America Plaza in 2016, records show. It tied for the second spot in the biggest South Florida office sales that year. Japanese trade conglomerate Sumitomo Corporation of Americas purchased the Miami Tower at 100 Southeast Second Street in downtown Miami for the same amount.
A CBRE team led by Christian Lee represented the seller, and a team from CBRE that included Tom Traynor represented the buyer in securing a purchase loan.
Bank of America Plaza has maintained an average occupancy of 94 percent over the years, according to the Lone Star and Square2 releases. Square2 will manage the property.
Tenants include Bank of America, Greenberg Traurig, Boies Schiller Flexner, Motorola Solutions and UBS.
Led by CEO Donald Quintin, Lone Star Funds is a private equity firm that has organized 25 funds since it was founded in 1995 with a total capital commitment of $95 billion, its website shows. It advises funds with investments, including in real estate and corporate equity. It’s a global firm based in Dallas.
Miami-based Highline, founded in 2016 by David Moret, is a real estate investment and operating firm. In 2023, it launched a $350 million distressed commercial real estate investment fund targeting the Southeast.
Square2, based in Coconut Grove, is led by principals Jay Caplin and Michael Manno, who founded the firm in 2019, according to its website.
In 2022, Square2, Steelbridge and Apollo Global Management sold the two-building office and retail complex Las Olas Square at 501-515 East Las Olas Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale for $144.5 million. They had paid $90 million for the property in 2016.
The Bank of America Plaza deal comes on the heels of Bradford Allen Investment Advisors paying $208 million this week for the two-building Las Olas Centre I & II at 350 and 450 East Las Olas Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The seller also was DWS Group.
