By Lauren Johnson
Boston Properties has closed on the sale of its 43-story office building at 140 East 45th Street for $401 million.
City records this week showed the building — known as Two Grand Central Tower — was sold by a Boston Properties joint venture to an affiliate of Rockwood Capital. The price includes the assumption of a $176.6 million mortgage.
The 667,000 s/f building between 44th and 45th Streets, was developed in 1982 and later sold by Harry Macklowe as part of a $705 million deal, which included 540 Madison Avenue in New York City. Boston Properties bought a 60% stake in the venture with U.S. Real Estate Opportunities I L.P., a partnership managed by Goldman Sachs, and Meraas Capital LLC, a Dubai-based private equity firm.
In an earnings call earlier this week, Boston Properties reported it will receive $125.9 million for its stake.
The REIT — whose chairman and chief executive officer is publisher Mortimer Zuckerman — posted better-than-expected earnings, helped by higher rental revenue. Boston Properties owns buildings in Washington D.C., New York, Boston, and San Francisco. Its largest tenant is the U.S. government, which comprises five percent of its tenants by square foot. Citibank is its second biggest tenant at 2.7 percent. By revenue, the legal services industry comprises its largest tenant sector at 26 percent. The company said revenue rose 17 percent to $452.4 million from a year ago.
Rockwood Capital did not respond to a request for comment by press time.