Brookfield, one of the world’s largest owners of commercial real estate, is in talks to buy a stake in the Hudson Square office portfolio on Manhattan’s West Side, according to people familiar with the negotiations, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday. The discussions would value the portfolio at roughly $3.5 billion, though none of the parties has publicly confirmed an agreement, and the people familiar with the matter cautioned that negotiations remain ongoing and could still end without a deal.
The properties at the center of the discussions are held by Hudson Square Properties, a joint venture assembled a decade ago by Trinity Church Wall Street, Norway’s sovereign wealth manager Norges Bank Investment Management, and developer Hines. The venture controls roughly 6 million square feet across a dozen former printing-house buildings between SoHo, Tribeca and the Hudson River. Trinity valued the portfolio at about $3.55 billion when it sold Norges a minority interest in the 75-year ground lease in 2015.
If completed, the investment would rank among the largest Manhattan office transactions since the pandemic reshaped the commercial real estate market. It would also deepen Brookfield’s already significant presence on Manhattan’s West Side, where the company developed Manhattan West and One Manhattan West near Penn Station. Downtown, Brookfield also owns One Liberty Plaza, which secured a 475,000-square-foot lease with law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton earlier this year.
One reason investors continue to focus on Hudson Square is the neighborhood’s growing concentration of technology and artificial intelligence companies. According to Newmark, asking office rents on the far West Side averaged approximately $134 per square foot during the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 6.2% from the previous year.
Hudson Square’s transformation accelerated after Google established a major campus spanning 315 and 345 Hudson Street and purchased St. John’s Terminal at 550 Washington Street for $2.1 billion in 2021. Disney followed with its new headquarters at 7 Hudson Square, which opened in 2024 under a 99-year, $650 million ground lease from Trinity Church.
The district continues attracting large technology tenants. AI developer Anthropic has been pursuing AEW Capital Management’s entire 466,000-square-foot building at 330 Hudson Street. PayPal leased 261,000 square feet at 345 Hudson Street earlier this year, healthcare software company Tennr expanded into 125,000 square feet, while Notion and RadicalMedia renewed significant office commitments.
For Brookfield, the strategy aligns with its broader push into artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company has expanded investments in data centers, power infrastructure and digital assets, including launching a $10 billion AI-focused infrastructure fund backed by investors that include Nvidia. A Hudson Square investment would extend that strategy into one of New York City’s strongest office markets, where AI companies are increasingly driving leasing demand.
The transaction could also benefit the existing owners. Trinity Church, whose Lower Manhattan land holdings trace back to a 1705 royal charter, has used returns from the Hudson Square venture to support its ministries and charitable work. Norges Bank Investment Management, which oversees Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, has steadily expanded its investment in the portfolio over the years, including extending portions of its ownership interest to 99-year lease terms.
The broader question is whether confidence has fully returned to New York’s office investment market. Leasing activity across Manhattan has strengthened through 2026, with available office space falling to its lowest level since 2020, yet sales of large office portfolios have remained relatively limited as buyers and sellers continue negotiating pricing expectations.
If a transaction is completed at roughly $3.5 billion, it would provide one of the clearest recent benchmarks for the value of a well-leased, technology-focused Manhattan office portfolio. It would also signal renewed institutional confidence in premier New York office assets as AI-driven demand continues reshaping the commercial real estate market.
JBizNews Desk | New York
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