Thor Equities Purchases 680 Madison Avenue Retail Space for Skyhigh $277 Million

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While prime retail corridors like Fifth Avenue and Soho have stayed afloat post-recession by keeping it real with a mix of high- and middlebrow retailers, Madison Avenue is standing by luxury as a bulwark in the sputtering economy.

Thor Equities‘ purchase of 35,000 square feet of retail space at 680 Madison Avenue for $277 million is further evidence of the street’s dramatic comeback, and, according to The Wall Street Journal, among the highest prices ever paid for retail property on the thoroughfare.

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carlton house1 Thor Equities Purchases 680 Madison Avenue Retail Space for Skyhigh $277 Million Thor, and C.E.O. Joseph Sitt, beat out Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) for the space after negotiations fell through between the owners Extell Development Co. and Angelo, Gordon & Co. and Vornado, which had offered to pay roughly $280 million for the property. Extell and Angelo, Gordon bought 680 Madison Avenue, a.k.a. the Carlton House, for about $170 million in 2010. The Mortgage Observer in August reported that the owners were working toward a $200 million loan for the planned condo conversion of Carlton House’s upper floors.

The Journal reports that during the early-00s boom rents on Madison Avenue reached $1,500 per square foot, then nosedived to $500 per square foot following the crash. Average asking rents spiked 30% to $1,000 per square foot in the third quarter of 2012, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Mr. Sitt told the Journal he plans to ask $1,800 per square foot for the space, at Madison Avenue and 61st Street, signaling the street’s rebirth. Thor Equities could not immediately be reached for comment.