By Al Barbarino 3/25 12:20pm

Sales Beat

225px-Sony_Building_by_David_Shankbone_crop

$1.1 B. Sony Deal Etched in Stone

City records confirm Joe Chetrit and David Bistricer’s $1.1 billion closing on the Sony Building, the deal that thrust Mr. Bistricer into the spotlight as his media shy partner continued his buying rampage.

The duo plans to turn the tower into residential condominiums and a hotel, and to retrofit the retail space; and they recently went into contract to purchase the 1.5-acre former Cabrini Medical Center site at Second Avenue and East 19th Street.

The Sony Building purchase pitted Mr. Bistricer and Mr. Chetrit against industry heavyweights like Joseph Sitt and Harry Macklowe, winning a competitive bid by slapping down a jaw-dropping $600 million letter of credit to seal the deal. Read More

By Al Barbarino 3/04 1:21pm

Sales Beat

Joe Chetrit (DNAinfo/Mathew Katz)

Joseph Chetrit and Partners Sling $150 M. at Former Cabrini Medical Center Site

Joseph Chetrit is in contract to purchase the 1.5-acre former Cabrini Medical Center site at Second Avenue and East 19th Street, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

The Chetrit Group and its partners have agreed to pay more than $150 million for the five-building complex owned by Memorial Sloan-Kettering, sources familiar with the deal confirmed with The Commercial Observer.

The Journal noted that Mr. Chetrit is purchasing the property with the same group of investors that he bought the Sony Building with, which included David Bistricer and put the man at the helm of Clipper Equities on the map among commercial real estate’s elite. Read More

By Billy Gray 2/21 8:00am

Lease Beat

Club Monaco's current store at 520 Broadway.

Club Monaco Signs 5,100-Square-Foot Lease At 532 Broadway

Club Monaco is moving on up to the northeast side of Broadway and Spring Street.

The mid-price casual apparel company signed a 15-year, 5,100-square-foot lease at Thor Equities‘ 532 Broadway in Soho and will move there from its current 14,500-square-foot location at 520 Broadway.

Robert Cohen of RKF represented the tenant. Joseph Sitt‘s Thor Equities represented the landlord in-house. Asking rents were $800 per square foot. Read More

By Al Barbarino 1/17 1:04pm

Sales Beat

875 Washington Street

Thor Equities and ASB Real Estate Investments Pay $96.5 M for Meatpacking Building

Thor Equities and ASB Real Estate Investments’ Allegiance Real Estate Fund have purchased 875 Washington Street in the Meatpacking District for $96.5 million.

The 60,000-square-foot, five-story building, between 13th and 14th Streets, features office and retail space and is located across the street from the High Line Park, a main driver in the neighborhood’s assent as one of the city’s most-travelled retail destinations.

“The Meatpacking District is the place to be in the fashion world, and as purveyors of high-end retail real estate, it is only fitting that we continue to expand our presence here,” said Joseph Sitt, CEO at Thor Equities, in a statement. “Situated among many of the world’s best nightlife, dining, and shopping outposts, 875 Washington is truly in the heart of the excitement and growth of Manhattan.” Read More

By Billy Gray 1/02 2:32pm

Sales Beat

680 Madison Avenue

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

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. Read More

By Karsten Strauss 11/21/12 7:44am

Joe Sitt, of Thor Equities.

Fifth Avenue Still on Top, Despite What Study Shows

Fifth Avenue’s drop from the top spot of Cushman & Wakefield’s list of the world’s most valuable shopping destination has more to do with surging rental rates in Hong Kong than it does a loss of value here in New York. That city’s Causeway Bay now holds the distinction of being the most expensive strip Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 7/30/12 2:13pm

Zoning Approvals

The proposed 837 Washington Street

837 Washington Street Development Close to Getting Zoning Approval

A joint Meatpacking District development by Taconic Investment Partners and Thor Equities is slated to receive zoning approvals from the New York City Department of Buildings, according to city records.

The proposed 55,000-square-foot development at 837 Washington Street will create 28,000 square feet of retail space and 27,000 square feet of office space at the former site of a 1930s factory building. Read More

By Carl Gaines 7/26/12 9:17am

Mortgage Beat

590 Fifth Avenue.

Thor Equities’ 590 Fifth Avenue Gets $100 Million in Financing

Cushman & Wakefield’s Equity, Debt & Structured Finance team has arranged $100 million in floating rate financing for Thor Equities’ 590 Fifth Avenue.

Thor Equities, headed by CEO Joseph Sitt, bought the 19-story, 100,000-square-foot office and retail building in 2007 from the Feil Organization for $90 million, according to data from Real Capital Analytics. Tenants there include AT&T and the NBA store. Read More

By Daniel Geiger 3/01/12 9:42am

Big Real Estate

Greetings from Cannes.

What’s MIPIM? In NYC, Nobody Knows.

It’s not just the biggest real estate conference no one has heard of. It’s the biggest real estate conference period. And, yes, most real estate professionals, at least in New York, haven’t heard of it.

Next week 19,000 guests from 90 countries will descend on Cannes, France, for MIPIM, a four-day event that roughly translates as “International Market for Real Estate Professionals” featuring speaking panels and networking opportunities that allow developers to shop major new projects to prospective tenants and investors. Read More

By Eliot Brown 8/16/10 6:41pm

Sitt Readies for Coney Island Demolitions

A push by preservationists be damned, Coney Island landlord Joe Sitt appears to be near the start of property demolitions in the amusement hub’s central district.

Late last week, the Department of Buildings approved demolitions on two buildings: the Shore Hotel, built in 1903, and the Bank of Coney Island, built in 1923, according to Read More

By Emily Geminder 3/15/10 11:15am

A Coney Constant

On Palm Sunday, the Coney Island Cyclone will clank, sputter and tilt into motion, careening its shrieking cargo around clattering curves and ushering in the new season. The whole neighborhood, rusty gears and all, will churn into motion, the same way it has for years. And like every other season in recent memory, Read More

By Guelda Voien 1/05/10 4:40pm

From Second Empire to Second Chance

Lord & Taylor, one of the most successful and enduring department store brands, was known for its female elevator operators at one time. The operators on one side of the building were redheads, while those on the other were brunettes.

The (clearly innovative) retailer’s third instantiation in New York City was at Read More