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PHILADELPHIA — Brandywine Realty Trust has acquired a leasehold interest in a trophy office tower located in downtown Philadelphia. Formerly known as the Bell Atlantic Tower, the building is located at 1717 Arch St. The property rises 53 stories and contains 1.03 million square feet of Class A space. It also includes a 309-space parking garage. Occupancy for the property was 63 percent at the time of closing. Verizon holds a long-term land lease for it, which has been prepaid through August 2022. The company also recently signed a lease for floors two through seven of the building — a total of 121,945 square feet. To acquire the property from the seller, The Blackstone Group, Brandywine provided $51.2 million in cash as well as 7.11 million operating partnership units, which are part of its new Continuous Equity Offering Program. As part of the arrangement, Blackstone will receive 7.11 million shares of what Brandywine has designated Class F units. These units do not accrue a distribution for the first year after the property's closing. After one year, the units receive a payment equivalent to the dividend Brandywine pays on its common shares. The holder of the units will have the right …

EXETER TOWNSHIP, PA. — A joint venture between Toronto-based RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and Port Washington, N.Y.-based Cedar Shopping Centers has closed on the $53 million acquisition of Exeter Commons shopping center in Exeter Township. The 361,000-square-foot center was completed in 2009. Its anchors include a 171,000-square-foot Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse and an 82,000-square-foot Giant Food Stores, both of which are under 20-year leases. Other tenants include Staples, Petco, Famous Footwear, Five Below, Sleepy's, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Hallmark, Red Robin, Affinity Bank and Sonic. Occupancy was 98 percent at the time of closing. The purchase was funded, in part, by a $30 million loan provided by New York Life Insurance Co. The loan carries a 10-year term, a 30-year amortization schedule and a 5.3 percent interest rate. Marcus & Millichap's Brad Nathanson represented the undisclosed seller. RioCan REIT holds an 80 percent stake in the joint venture, with Cedar Shopping Centers holding the other 20 percent. The partnership was formed last October with RioCan's $181 million acquisition of an 80 percent stake in a portfolio of seven grocery-anchored shopping centers located in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania that were previously wholly owned by Cedar. The portfolio contains …

NEW YORK CITY — Brookfield Properties Corp. has announced a plan to reposition itself as a global office property company. As part of the plan, the company will acquire an interest in an Australian office portfolio and divest itself of its residential land and housing business. Brookfield Properties is acquiring its stake in the office portfolio from Brookfield Asset Management for$1.4 billion (US). The portfolio contains 16 office buildings totaling 8 million square feet of space. Ten of the properties are located in Sydney, four are located in Melbourne and two are located in Perth. Portfolio occupancy averages 99 percent. The estimated value of the portfolio is $3.4 billion (US). Brookfield Properties plans to fund the transaction from $1.3 billion in available liquidity and from a $750 million subordinate bridge acquisition facility, which will be provided by Brookfield Asset Management. Brookfield Properties already has a presence in Australia's office market. It currently has a development pipeline of 15.6 million square feet, which includes City Square, a 926,000-square-foot office tower under development in Perth. The company also has the right of first offer to develop or purchase three development sites: The Foundry in Melbourne, Bathurst Street in Sydney and Bishops See …

LOS ANGELES AND NEW YORK CITY — Los Angeles-based AECOM Technology Corp. has acquired New York City-based Tishman Construction Corp. in a $245 million transaction. AECOM is a provider of technical and management support services for government and commercial clients. Tishman is a 112-year old construction management company that operates across the United States and in the United Arab Emirates. AECOM states in a release that the deal allows it to expand its higher-margin construction management and program management businesses without increasing its risk. John Dionisio, president and CEO of AECOM, commented, “This is a unique opportunity that combines two best-in-class industry leaders to form a fully integrated global platform capable of delivering the full suite of services, from project concept to completion.” AECOM will finance the purchase with a combination of cash and common stock. The cash portion will come from the company's balance sheet and will include proceeds from its recently announced $250 million debt issuance. As part of the deal, Dan Tishman, chairman and CEO of Tishman Construction, will continue to head the company's operations and will join AECOM as vice chairman and a member of its board of directors. With the transaction, AECOM will gain a …