Trizec Properties Inc. has won the bidding for Figueroa at Wilshire, one of downtown L.A.’s most prestigious addresses.

The New York-based real estate investment trust is buying the 1 million-square-foot tower at 601 S. Figueroa St. for about $365 million, according to several sources close to the deal.

Trizec spokesman Dennis C. Fabro declined to comment on the pending transaction, although he noted that the company remains focused on downtown office properties. “Downtown L.A. is a key market for Trizec,” he said.

The 52-story building, formerly called Sanwa Bank Plaza, is owned by a partnership of Hines and Deutsche Immobilien Fonds AG.

John Eichler, a senior director at Cushman & Wakefield Inc., said Figueroa at Wilshire is one of the best-located and best-designed office buildings in the downtown market.

“It’s one of the top trophy buildings in the marketplace,” said Eichler, who didn’t work on the deal. “It’s one of the highest quality buildings downtown.”

The deal comes as the downtown office market continues to strengthen, fueling landlord confidence. Preliminary second-quarter figures from Grubb & Ellis Co. show vacancy rates dropping during the April-June period while asking rents remained flat.

*

The full story

is available in the July 11 edition of the Los Angeles Business Journal.