Boston Properties Says GM Tower to Cost $2.8 Billion

A partnership led by Boston Properties Inc. agreed to pay a record $2.8 billion for New York's General Motors Building, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The purchase would be the most expensive for a single building, according to Real Capital Analytics, a New York-based real estate research service. The previous record was the $1.8 billion paid by Kushner Cos. of New Jersey in January 2007 for 666 Fifth Ave., also in Manhattan.

Buying the GM Building gives billionaire Mortimer Zuckerman's Boston Properties, the biggest U.S. office landlord, an iconic, 50-story white marble tower with 2 million square feet of offices at the southeast corner of Central Park. The deal helps New York developer Harry Macklowe, the seller, pay off some of his $7 billion in debt. It may also give a lift to the New York office market.