Sovereign Partners in contract to buy Tower56 in forced sale

Cyrus and Darius Sakhai’s Sovereign Partners has struck a deal to buy the Tower56 office building in the Plaza District for about $110 million.

The brothers’ investment firm is in contract to buy the 1980s-era building at 126 East 56th Street from Pearlmark Real Estate, a source familiar with the agreement told The Real Deal.

Pearlmark couldn’t refinance its mortgage on the property. The sales price is roughly what is owed on the debt, which is held by the Blackstone Group.

Pearlmark will retain a small piece of ownership in the deal, the source said.

Representatives for Pearlmark and Sovereign Partners declined to comment.

The deal was negotiated by a Cushman & Wakefield team led by Adam Spies, Doug Harmon and Josh King, which has since moved to Newmark.

Cyrus and Daris founded Sovereign Partners in 2002. The New York-based company has been active in recent years buying and selling office buildings in New Jersey, Milwaukee and the suburbs of Chicago.

The deal for Tower56 is one of the first big forced sales to hit the New York office market — a trend many expect to grow this year as owners have trouble refinancing loans that come due.

Blackstone lent Pearlmark $125 million in 2018 to refinance the tower, which has struggled with low occupancy and tenants leaving. The building is about 80 percent occupied with an average of three years left on the remaining leases.