UPDATED on Jan. 14, at 3:05 p.m.: One of the most recognizable towers on the Los Angeles skyline is now for sale.
Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE), a Singapore-based investment management firm, is selling the 30-year-old U.S. Bank Tower in Downtown Los Angeles. Sources familiar with the listing said the firm is seeking bids close to $500 per square foot, or about $700 million.
Real Estate Finance & Investment first reported the news.
Located at 633 West Fifth Street in the heart of the Financial District, the U.S. Bank Tower spans 72 stories and has 1.4 million square feet of office space. The property, formerly called the Library Tower, is the third-largest building in California. It held the title of tallest building in the West until last year, when construction wrapped up on the Wilshire Grand in L.A. and the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco.
The bank tower has also become a big draw for tourists seeking some of the best views in the city. On its 70th floor, the skyscraper includes an observation deck with a 36-foot long glass slide that allows riders to slide down one floor along the outside of the building.
OUE will lease back the “Skyspace” observation deck and bar pending a sale, said another industry source familiar with the listing.
A spokesperson for OUE did not respond to requests for comment. The publicly traded company also owns several properties in Singapore, China and Malaysia.
Tenants leasing in the building include Lewis Brisbois, a 1,200-person law firm that occupies 260,000 square feet at the property. Global insurance firm Marsh & McLennan, and law firms Gordon & Rees and Hinshaw & Culbertson, are also tenants.
OUE acquired the building in 2013 for $367.5 million, records show. The firm then spent $50 million on renovations.
If sold for $500 per square foot, the deal would top the most expensive recent investment deal in Downtown Los Angeles. In 2017, Tom Barrack’s Colony NorthStar and Rising Realty Partners paid $465 million, or $465 per square foot, to acquire One California Plaza. That still didn’t surpass the sale of the Chase Tower, which traded for $486 per square foot in 2016.