Rockwood Capital has completed the sale of its Midtown office tower, 2 Grand Central Tower, to Sovereign Partners for $273 million, according to a report by Commercial Observer. The property, located near Grand Central Terminal, covers 667,000 square feet and the transaction equates to $409 per square foot.
Earlier this year, Rockwood placed the building on the market with an asking price of about $270 million. In February 2020, before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Rockwood had sought nearly $580 million for the property. The firm originally acquired the tower in 2011 from Boston Properties (now BXP) for $401 million. Boston Properties had previously purchased it in 2008 from developer Harry Macklowe for almost $428 million.
Negotiations between Sovereign Partners and Rockwood were reported by The Promote in late October, but the deal was finalized only this week. Eastdil Secured’s Gary Phillips and Will Silverman handled the transaction negotiations. Both buyer and seller declined to comment to Commercial Observer.
In July, Rockwood refinanced the 44-story building with a $262.6 million loan from MetLife, replacing a previous $260 million loan made in 2018 by the same lender. For this acquisition, MetLife is providing Sovereign Partners with $177 million in financing.
The building’s tenants include Nuvo Group, Maersk, Cigna, and several firms from financial, legal, and professional services sectors. Rockwood also maintains its headquarters at this location.
Recently, Rockwood announced plans to integrate its operations into Harrison Street Asset Management; both companies are subsidiaries of Colliers International. Two months ago, Rockwood listed another office property at 1 Broadway in Manhattan’s Financial District for sale at $180 million.
Sovereign Partners has been active in Midtown East real estate investment. Last year it purchased 780 Third Avenue from Nuveen for $178 million and previously acquired 100-104 Fifth Avenue from Clarion Partners at a discounted price of $125 million.
