In 2001, Brookfield Office Properties bought the property for $432 million. Following the September 11 attacks, and the subsequent collapse of the World Trade Center nearby, One Liberty Plaza sustained significant facade damage. The building needed hundreds of windows that had been blown out on its western facade to be replaced, and the removal of heavy dust and debris from the floors and equipment on the roof. An outside area on the street beside Brooks Brothers on the ground floor of the building was used as a temporary morgue in the days following the attack. At one point there was a rumor going around that the building was in danger of collapse. These claims were quickly refuted by the "New York Times":