Thor closes on Scoop building for $96.44M

A year-end deal for billionaire grocery magnate and newbie real estate investor Ron Burkle’s Scoop building has closed for $96.44 million, according to public records filed with the city yesterday.

The deal represents a $30 million mark up over what the California-based tycoon paid for the five-story, 61,000-square-foot building at 428 West 14th Street one year previously. Sources told The Real Deal that Burkle, who has an ownership interest in tenant Scoop, made the deal more attractive to Thor by modifying the terms of the retailer’s lease. Scoop extended its lease in one portion of the building and shortened it in another, the source said.

The deal for the building, which is 100 percent occupied by retail and office tenants such as Scoop, Alexander McQueen and Hogs & Heifers, closed December 31. It last sold to Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies for $65 million in December 2011. The property was previously owned by Blackrock Realty Advisors.

Burkle, who entered the New York City property arena last year, had reportedly been trying to flip the property for some time. He had been seeking $100 million, sources previously told The Real Deal. Thor’s purchase of the property was first reported by the New York Post.

Doug Harmon and Adam Spies of Eastdil Secured represented Burkle in the deal. Spies declined to comment on the transaction.