This story was updated Jan. 21 to correct that the Wells Fargo Center North Tower sold. A previous story said the Bank of America Plaza sold.
A prominent tower in downtown Los Angeles has sold after the owner defaulted on the building's loan, underscoring the distress still weighing on one of the nation’s largest office markets.
The 601West Cos., a New York City investment firm, has acquired the distressed mortgage on Wells Fargo Center North Tower from Brookfield Properties for an undisclosed price, according to people familiar with the deal.
Brookfield acquired the 55-story property as part of a four-property portfolio deal in 2013 for $1.9 billion.
Downtown Los Angeles’ office market is facing its toughest stretch in decades, marked by stagnant demand, high vacancies and declining rents as landlords rely on heavy concessions to fill space. Yet even amid steeply discounted sales and persistent uncertainty, rising transaction volume and a handful of stronger deals hint at early signs of renewed investor confidence, according to CoStar research.
601West has been snapping up high-profile office towers at discounts over the past year, including the 16-story 525 Van Buren St. in Chicago and the 22-story 205 E. 42nd St. in New York City in November. The company owns 43 properties, including 28 office buildings, according to CoStar data.
The deal contributes to a 25% year-over-year increase in office sales across greater Los Angeles.
Downtown office distress
The downtown building is almost fully leased to Wells Fargo, development firm Related California and architecture firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill. But one of the building's top tenants, Oaktree Capital Management, announced plans this summer to vacate its 214,600-square-foot space in the building for another downtown office tower.
The Wells Fargo Center North Tower holds more than $500 million in defaulted debt, including a more than $37 million mezzanine loan from Oaktree itself, according to information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In early 2023, Brookfield’s Downtown LA Office Fund defaulted on more than $1.1 billion in loans tied to the Gas Company Tower and the 777 Tower. Both skyscrapers entered receivership that year after Brookfield chose not to continue covering debt service.
Those properties have been sold to new owners. In June, Brookfield sold the 52-story Figueroa at Wilshire tower to Uncommon Developers for $210 million, or about $201 per square foot, in one of LA’s biggest deals of 2025. In March, 777 Tower sold to Consus Asset Management for about $145 million, less than half of the property’s $319 million outstanding debt, underscoring the depth of the office value reset.
Despite those sales, Brookfield remains a major downtown owner, with roughly 785 multifamily units and about 5.7 million square feet of office space in the market, some of which is also up for sale.
Brookfield is also marketing for sale FIGat7th, a 330,000-square-foot retail center at 735 S. Figueroa St. The property is anchored by Nordstrom Rack, Sephora, Target and Zara and carries a $59 million loan from MetLife that comes due this year.