Dan D'Ambrosio | Burlington Free Press

The majority owner of CityPlace Burlington, Brookfield Properties, is part of the largest real estate investment firm in the world, a firm that bailed out President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on a Manhattan property deal, and is partly owned by the government of Qatar.

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That juxtaposition of Kushner and Qatar resulted in a feeling of uncomfortable surprise in the Middle East nation, the richest per capita in the world, according to a Feb. 11 story by Reuters.

"When news emerged that Qatar may have unwittingly helped bail out a New York skyscraper owned by the family of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, eyebrows were raised in Doha," Reuters reported.

As a result, says Reuters, the Qatar Investment Authority, which holds a 9-percent stake in Brookfield Property Partners, decided that in the future it will try to avoid "putting money in funds or other investment vehicles it does not have full control over."

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"Qatar started looking into how its name got involved into the deal and found out it was because of a fund it co-owned," Reuters wrote, citing sources familiar with the Qatar Investment Authority. "So QIA ultimately triggered a strategy revamp."

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The Investment Authority denied it had changed its investment strategy and stressed that it had "absolutely no involvement" in the 666 Fifth Avenue development, the address of the building owned by Kushner.

Reuters reports that Kushner was chief executive of Kushner Companies when it acquired 666 Fifth Avenue in 2007 for a record $1.8 billion.

"It has been a drag on his family's real estate company ever since," reported Reuters.

Brookfield rescued Kushner last August by taking a 99-year lease on the troubled property, paying the rent for 99 years upfront, according to Reuters. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The story helps put into perspective the rarefied circles Brookfield runs in — in addition to having a 51 percent stake in the $225 million CityPlace Burlington project, one of the largest in Vermont's history.

Silent partner

The Qatar Investment Authority paid $1.8 billion for its 9-percent stake in Brookfield Property Partners in 2014. Brookfield Property Partners has $87 billion in assets, part of more than $330 billion managed by its parent Brookfield, according to Reuters.

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Brookfield was a silent partner in CityPlace Burlington until the end of January, when Chase Martin, Brookfield senior vice president, appeared before the Burlington City Council to "assure the community that the plans for CityPlace Burlington are moving forward."

CityPlace has been plagued with delays since last August, failing to pour the foundation despite getting a green light from the City Council, which waived the requirement to have all the financing in place before beginning construction.

At one point, minority partner Don Sinex of Devonwood Investors blamed his majority partner, Brookfield, for the delay, saying he was being prevented from submitting the documents and agreements required by the city for a foundation permit.

Evan Weiss

Since then, Sinex has tempered his comments by saying Brookfield was just being cautious and diligent, slowing things down until full financing is in place.

"We've had the ability to take this time and use it constructively," Sinex told the Burlington Free Press. "We're looking at ways to reduce costs, but keeping the quality the same."

Brookfield's Chase Martin assured the City Council that construction on CityPlace Burlington would resume this spring.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the address of the building at 666 Fifth Ave. owned by Kushner Companies.