Image courtesy Newmark Knight Frank

How much are investors willing to pay for downtown office and retail space in the COVID-19 era?

In the case of one Back Bay property with a longstanding luxury pedigree, nearly $2,500 per square foot.

Chilean family office Corso and Munich-based GLL Real Estate Partners acquired 8 Newbury St., a 17,023-square-foot building anchored by the largest Rolex store in North America, for $42.45 million.

The 100-percent leased building includes a two-story Rolex store and office space leased to investment firms.

The sellers, UrbanMeritage and L&B Realty Advisors, acquired the property in 2013 for $15.15 million and received a $15 million construction mortgage from East Boston Savings Bank in 2015.

The eight-story building, located on a 3,136-square-foot lot, was originally completed in the early 20th century as a Rolls-Royce showroom. In a statement, UrbanMeritage Principal Michael Jammen attributed the ability to complete the latest transaction to recent upgrades including a gut renovation that updated the the lobby, interiors and facade. 

Newmark Knight Frank’s capital markets group represented the sellers and procured the buyer.

Back Bay led all Boston submarkets with highest asking rents of $70.61 per square foot in the second quarter, according to Newmark Knight Frank research. The neighborhood has over 83,000 square feet of positive leasing absorption since Jan. 1, also the highest in the city.