Rockwood Capital’s Christmas wish came true: it sold its Midtown office tower near Grand Central Terminal. But it may feel like a stocking of coal compared to previous offloading efforts.
Sovereign Partners sealed the deal on a $273 million acquisition of 2 Grand Central Tower on Thursday, the Commercial Observer reported. The deal for the 667,000-square-foot property breaks down to $409 per square foot.
This year, Rockwood put the property on the market, seeking a sale price of roughly $270 million. The last time the private equity investor tried to sell, back in February 2020 (shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic hit), Rockwood had expected to sell the tower for close to $580 million, more than double its more recent aspiration.
Rockwood purchased the office building in 2011 from Boston Properties, now BXP, for $401 million. Boston Properties bought it for almost $428 million in 2008 from Harry Macklowe, who developed it.
The Promote reported that Sovereign Partners was finalizing a deal for the office building towards the end of October, but it didn’t close until this week.
Eastdil Secured’s Gary Phillips and Will Silverman negotiated the transaction. Buyer and seller did not return requests for comment from the Observer.
Rockwood secured a $262.6 million refinancing of the 44-story tower in July, replacing the previous $260 million loan on the property made in 2018; both loans came courtesy of MetLife, which is providing $177 million in acquisition financing to Sovereign.
Tenants include the Nuvo Group, Maersk, Cigna and various financial, legal and professional services firms. Rockwood also has its headquarters in the building.
Rockwood recently announced that it would integrate its operations into Harrison Street Asset Management; the two companies are subsidiaries of Colliers International. Two months ago, it listed the 230,000-square-foot office building at 1 Broadway in the Financial District, seeking $180 million.
Cyrus and Darius Sakhai’s Sovereign Partners are investors in the Midtown East market. Last year, it bought 780 Third Avenue from Nuveen for $178 million. Earlier, Sovereign Partners landed 100-104 FIfth Avenue from Clarion Partners for the heavily discounted price of $125 million.