Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities Buys Barclays-Area Mixed-Use Development for $23 Million
By Billy Gray May 7, 2013 2:26 pm
reprintsThor Equities has closed on the $23 million off-market purchase of Atlantic Gardens, a mixed-use development abutting the Barclays Center.
Atlantic Gardens consists of 24 rental units and nine retail spaces at 525-541 Atlantic Avenue between Third and Fourth Avenues. The seller, Bennat Berger of BCB Properties, bought the assets for $10.93 million just two years ago.
BCB decided to sell the property because they “made a lot of money,” Mr. Berger told The Real Deal. Mr. Berger said he actually paid closer to $11.25 million for the development. Back in 2010 there were rumors that Shake Shack would open its first Brooklyn location at Atlantic Gardens. Danny Meyer‘s burger joint instead settled at 409 Fulton Street, and is due to open another Kings County branch at 170 Flatbush Avenue this fall.
Thor CEO Joe Sitt plans to “reposition” the retail portion of the development, The Real Deal reported. Earlier this year, Thor paid $5.2 million for a mixed-use portfolio at 292-294 Atlantic Avenue. Neighborhood landlord Michael Pintchik said that since the Barclays Center opened early last fall, retail rents in the surrounding area have shot up to $175 per square foot from $50 to $55 a foot before the complex’s arrival.
