Joseph Sitt

Thor Equities has sued the owner of a Soho mixed-use building, alleging that by selling the building to SL Green Realty, the owner violated an exclusive agreement with Thor, Crain’s reported.

The suit alleges that Thor was an in exclusive agreement with Willspring Holdings to purchase the 68,342-square-foot office and retail building, located at 131-137 Spring Street. In December, however, Willspring agreed to sell the building to a partnership of SL Green and frequent collaborator Jeff Sutton for $122 million, as The Real Deal previously reported.  [more]

Joe Sitt, Jeff Sutton and Faith Hope Consolo

Commercial real estate brokers are livid that the city’s big  landlords are disregarding the broker’s “exclusives” with retailers by attempting to land tenants on their own, sources told the New York Observer. Large retail owners, including  Joe Sitt and Jeff Sutton, are being accused of “skipping the middle man,” which is “totally not kosher,” a president of a top city brokerage told the Commercial Observer. “It puts the retail brokers in a difficult spot and it is morally incorrect.” [more]

Source: The Real Deal analysis of Real Capital Analytics properties categorized as retail

SL Green Realty added to its retail portfolio with the $122.3 million acquisition of store space in Soho, the ever-trendy neighborhood that has seen record-breaking levels of sales over the past year. [more]

Joe Siit and Fifth Avenue Tower (Building image c/o CityRealty)

Thor Equities won a temporary restraining order against Fifth Avenue Tower. The order, issued late Wednesday, blocks the condominium board at the 33-story apartment building from taking down Thor’s signs from the retail space that it owns at the property. [more]

Joseph Sitt

Joseph Sitt has a sky-high goal — to improve the state of New York City’s airports. The founder of Thor Equities has started Global Gateway Alliance, an advocacy group to improve operations at JFK, La Guardia and Newark Liberty International airports, Crain’s reported. A frequent flier and a major investor in the retail and tourism industries, Sitt said he was embarrassed by the state of what used to be considered aspirational airports.”Forty years ago, we were rated the No. 1 airport,” Sitt said of JFK. “We’re now rated last, 26 out of 26 major airports in the world. That’s a mind-boggling statistic — from first to worst.”… [more]

From left: Joe Sitt, Helmsley Carlton House and Gary Barnett

Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities has purchased from Extell a block-long retail space in the former Helmsley Carlton House on Madison Avenue for $277 million  — one of the highest total prices ever paid for a retail property on the street, according to the Wall Street Journal. Thor beat out Vornado Realty Trust, which had placed a competing $280 million offer for the retail space, located at 680 Madison Avenue and 61st Street, between Barneys and Hermès. [more]