Boston Properties has sold Two Grand Central to an affiliate of Rockwood Capital for $401 million, Real Estate Weekly reported. Rockwood assumed the $176.6 million mortgage in the transaction.

The tower, also known as 140 East 45th Street, was owned in a joint venture between U.S. Real Estate Opportunities I L.P, a fund managed by Goldman Sachs, and Boston Properties, which had a 60 percent stake in the building, which is between 44th and 45th streets. The real estate investment trust, founded by Mortimer Zuckerman in 1970, said in an earnings call it received $125.9 million for its portion of the structure. [more]

Top row from left: Solow Building Owner Sheldon Solow, Boston Properties Chairman Mort Zuckerman, LeFrak Organization Chairman Richard LeFrak, investor John Paulson; Bottom row from left: Donald Trump, Tishman Speyer Chairman Jerry Speyer, Blackstone Group Founder Stephen Schwarzman, Red Apple Group CEO John Catsimatidis and Related Companies Founder Stephen Ross

Of the 63 New York City residents to make Forbes new list of the 400 richest people in America at least 13 are closely tied to the real estate industry. For example, the third richest New Yorker, right after businessman David Koch and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is John Paulson, who made billions betting against the housing market right before the crash. He’s the 17th richest person in the country, according to Forbes, with a net worth of $15.5 billion.

The 60th richest American is New York City real estate magnate Richard LeFrak, who is worth $5 billion thanks in part to the large housing developments he owns. He’s 10th among city residents. [more]

Mort Zuckerman and 950 Fifth Avenue (Source: Propertyshark)

The Real Deal interviewed Mort Zuckerman for what it thought was The Closing section of the September magazine, a wide-ranging monthly Q & A piece with some of New York real estate industry’s top players.

But Zuckerman, the chairman of Boston Properties and publisher of the New York Daily News, might not have been thoroughly briefed on the personal nature of The Closing interview, which generally includes questions ranging from where people maintain homes to who they are dating to mistakes they’ve made in their careers. When The Real Deal asked about the size of his apartment, one of the tamer questions slated for him, the 74-year-old billionaire said he didn’t “have any idea” about the square footage, called the question “silly” and terminated the interview.

The Real Deal decided to share a slightly condensed version of the Q & A with the divorced father of two on the Web. Check here to see what Zuckerman had to say. [more]

Mortimer Zuckerman, founder and chairman of Boston Properties and owner of the New York Daily News, appeared on CNBC this afternoon to discuss the media business, the debt ceiling and the commercial real estate market. When CNBC noted the bifurcated nature of the market, which is seeing growth in the best markets, but rent declines in other large cities, Zuckerman said that the dichotomy does not concern him. “We’ve limited our own activities to Washington and New York, Boston and San Francisco and these are the best markets to be in,” he said. [more]

Mortimer Zuckerman, Mark Edelstein, 250 West 55th Street

[Updated May 25 at 11a.m.]

International law firm Morrison & Foerster has signed a 15-year lease to take 180,000 square feet, or seven floors, of space at 250 West 55th Street, Boston Properties’ planned $1.05 billion, one million-square-foot office building in Midtown, Boston Properties announced today. Construction on the 39-story building, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, began in late 2007, but was suspended as a result of the recession in 2009, after the completion of excavation and foundations. It is slated to resume in the fall of this year and be completed by 2014.

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Boston Properties is nearing a deal to lease 66,000 square feet in its upcoming, and still mostly unclaimed, 510 Madison Avenue office tower to SAC Capital, the hedge fund owned by billionaire Steven Cohen, according to the Observer. Rumors of the negotiations surfaced months ago, but a lawsuit in which Cohen’s ex-wife accused him of insider trading had apparently put the talks on hold. A judge dismissed the case earlier this week, though, and sources said that clears the way for the lease signing to take place within days. SAC, which may get naming rights as part of the deal, is currently located at 540 Madison Avenue. [more]

Boston Properties’ Mortimer Zuckerman and John Hancock TowerMortimer Zuckerman’s Boston Properties closed on the $930 million acquisition of the John Hancock Tower in Boston, in what is the largest pure investment purchase in the country this year, the deal’s brokers, Cushman & Wakefield, said in a statement today.
The real estate investment trust Boston Properties bought the 1.7 million-square-foot tower at 200 Clarendon Street and a garage, located at 100 Clarendon Street, from a joint venture between private equity firms Normandy Real Estate Partners and Five Mile Capital Partners. Broadway Partners bought the building in 2006 for $1.3 billion, but lost it after defaulting on its loans. Normandy and Five Mile acquired it in March 2009 for $661 million. TRD
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John Hancock Tower

Mortimer Zuckerman’s Boston Properties agreed to acquire the iconic John Hancock Tower and Garage in Boston, Mass., for $930 million, with a closing expected in the fourth quarter of 2010, the firm announced today. The seller is a joint venture between Normandy Real Estate Partners and Five Mile Capital Partners. The company is paying $289.5 million in cash and is assuming $640.5 million in debt. Boston Properties expects to incur approximately $2 million in acquisition-related costs. The seller has agreed to fund and complete the cost of certain capital projects and tenant improvements that are currently underway. The John Hancock Tower is an iconic 62-story office tower with approximately 1.7 million of rentable square feet, located in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. TRD

Boston Properties head Mort Zuckerman

Boston Properties has made its first office building acquisition since its buying spree in 2008, according to the Wall Street Journal, picking up a 30 percent stake in a Washington, D.C. property. But rather than celebrate, industry insiders are pointing to the relatively small size of the deal — Boston Properties is paying just $8.5 million for its portion of the 180,000-square-foot office building — a far cry from the company’s larger boom time purchases. [more]