In one of the priciest downtown L.A. office deals since the recession, real estate investment management company Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers has negotiated to buy the tower at 801 S. Figueroa St. for about $175 million, according to sources familiar with the transaction.

The Hartford, Conn., company, which has a western region office in Santa Monica, completed the due-diligence process after its offer was accepted earlier this month by the building’s West Hollywood owner, Mani Brothers Real Estate Group. Cornerstone was expected to close the purchase of the 25-story tower Sept. 29.

Once closed, the sale will be the largest by total dollar value so far this year for a downtown office property. But perhaps even more significant, the sale marks only the second time since the recession that a high-rise property there has changed hands for more than $350 a square foot. At $175 million, the nearly 458,000-square-foot tower will have traded for about $382 a square foot.

Read the full story in the September 29 weekly edition of the Business Journal.