A joint venture of Silverstein Properties and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) have paid more than $1 billion for a Manhattan office building, Silverstein reported this month.

The partners purchased the 1 million sq. ft. 1177 Sixth Avenue via Metro Fund LLC, marking the third acquisition for the joint-venture fund. Last year Metro Fund bought 575 Lexington Avenue – a 35-story office tower currently undergoing lobby renovations – and 99 Church Street, which is being developed into a luxury hotel and condominium designed by Robert A.M. Stern and slated to be completed in 2011.

“From Lexington Avenue to Downtown Manhattan and now the Rockefeller Center District, Metro Fund has allowed us to continue to expand our New York real estate portfolio,” says Larry A. Silverstein, president and CEO of Manhattan-based Silverstein Properties. “We are thrilled to close out 2007 with the addition of this building.”

Eastdil Secured and Goldman Sachs & Co. marketed the 47-story tower on behalf of the seller, Paramount Group Inc. The property is between 45th and 46th streets. CB Richard Ellis Investor, a wholly owned but independently operated subsidiary of CB Richard Ellis, advised CalSTERS.

Tenants at 1177 Sixth Avenue include Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLC, and law firms Dickstein Shapiro Movin & Oshinksy and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel. Construction on the granite building – also known as the Americas Tower – started in 1989 and was completed in 1992.

“As the third major New York deal by Metro Fund, the purchase of 1177 Sixth Avenue is a valuable investment in the short- and long-term,” says Vic Bucchere, managing director and national head of acquisitions at CB Richard Ellis Investors.

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