Fairstead Sells Clinton Hill’s 275 Park to Thor at $9M Loss

Fairstead Ventures gave Thor Equities a sweet deal as it offloaded 275 Park Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, at a $9 million loss.

Thor Equities bought the residential building, known as The Chocolate Factory for its history as a confectionery maker, for $58.5 million from Fairstead, according to property records. That’s a loss from the $67 million Fairstead bought the building for in 2019.

On the ground level is the 275 Park Performance Venue, mostly known as a comedy club and trivia spot.

While Fairstead certainly didn’t walk away with sale profits from the investment, the trade value of the building has only decreased in the last decade with HK Organization acquiring it in 2014 for $68 million as well. 

Whether or not Joe Sitt’s Thor can break the curse is unclear. 

“[The Chocolate Factory Lofts are] a valuable addition to our portfolio that blends Brooklyn’s rich industrial past and modern present,” Sitt said in a statement. “This investment strengthens our presence in high-growth markets and supports our approach of enhancing and diversifying our assets.”

Fairstead did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But Thor hasn’t had the best luck itself recently in the investment sales department having sold the retail component of  680 Madison Avenue for $180 million to TZ Capital in June, a sizable loss from the $277 million it bought the property for in 2013.

Thor doesn’t have all its eggs in one basket, however, as it continues to pick up industrial properties around the country, acquiring development sites for data centers through its Form8tion venture, and focuses on its Coney Island, Brooklyn, casino proposal known as The Coney.

If it is awarded one of the three available downstate casino licenses among the many other applicants, Thor, Saratoga Casino Holdings, the Chickasaw Nation and Legends could spend somewhere around $3 billion on a 500-room hotel, a 2,500-seat concert venue, 70,000 square feet of retail, and 90,000 square feet of meeting and event space on the waterfront.

The Chocolate Factory was first constructed in the 1890s and produced Tootsie Rolls, but the 174,630-square-foot building was converted into housing in the early 2000s.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.