From the January issue: For years, private equity firms have been lavished with huge sums of money by investors looking to own New York buildings. But recently, there have been fewer deals that those firms are finding attractive — ones that offer quick and bountiful yields. Plus, many so-called distressed opportunities that were supposed to materialize didn’t, as banks worked out new loan terms with their struggling borrowers.

As a result, many private equity firms’ buckets of cash have been sitting unspent. And, under typical investment rules, funds that are not deployed within three years must be returned to investors, without a hotel or condo or office tower to show for them. [more]

Joseph Sitt, CEO of Thor Equities, and 516 Fifth Avenue

Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities has agreed to acquire three connected buildings at 516-520 Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street from developer RFR Holding, the Wall Street Journal reported, and is planning to demolish the existing properties and build a new $250 million, 350,000-square-foot mixed-use complex at the site.

The acquisition isn’t Sitt’s sole investment on Fifth Avenue of late. The Thor CEO has also agreed to purchase a building at 445 Fifth Avenue near 39th Street, the Journal said, bringing his holdings on the avenue to eight buildings, all but one of which are south of 49th Street. The exception is the trophy Takashimaya building between 54th and 55th streets, which Sitt acquired last year for $142 million. [more]

From left: Stanley Chera, founder of Crown Acquisitions, Joseph Sitt, CEO of Thor Equities, and Mike
Pappagallo, COO of Kimco Realty

Although just a fraction of the size of the largest global retail convention held each year in Las Vegas by the International Council of Shopping Centers, the trade group’s conference taking place in New York City next week is considered the second most important in the country.

One advantage of its smaller size, insiders said, is that the New York show provides for greater concentration on closing deals.

“In Las Vegas, the annual convention has more pageantry,” Mike Pappagallo, COO for the New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based real estate investment trust, Kimco Realty, said. “At New York there is more good old-fashioned blocking and tackling and deal making.” [more]

From left: Thor Equities CEO Joseph Sitt, 590 Fifth Avenue and former NBA store site at 666 Fifth Avenue

The National Basketball Association has signed a temporary retail lease at Thor Equities‘ 590 Fifth Avenue, between 47th and 48th streets, Thor announced today. The NBA will occupy two levels totaling more than 6,000 square feet with 20 feet of direct frontage on Fifth Avenue. The league will continue to search for a permanent location in Manhattan.

A spokesperson for Thor was not immediately available to comment on the terms of the lease.
For 12 years, the NBA store occupied a 35,000-square-foot lease at 666 Fifth Avenue, but chose not to renew its lease last year after Cushman & Wakefield increased the asking rent by 500 percent, CBS reported at the time. The store closed in February. The increase was reportedly instigated after Japanese retailer Uniqlo snagged 89,000 square feet at the former Brooks Brothers space for a record $300 million over 15 years. – Katherine Clarke [more]

From left: Joseph Sitt, CEO of Thor Equities, Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of retail leasing at Prudential Douglas Elliman, Louis Greco, principal at SDS Procida, and Paula Del Nunzio, senior vice president at Brown Harris Stevens

Impending doom or exaggeration by media spin doctors? While economists remain divided over the long-term implications of the Standard & Poor’s treasury bond downgrade for U.S. residential and commercial real estate, New York City’s real estate pros are keeping upbeat. The Big Apple, they said, is the best place to weather the storm.
S&P downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+ Aug. 5, after much debate in Congress over raising the nation’s debt ceiling. The downgrading of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac soon followed.
The Real Deal talked to some of the city’s most well-known brokers and developers in the wake of these events to find out whether they were shocked by the downgrade and what effect they expect it to have on their livelihoods.
While they disagreed on the immediate impact the downgrade might have on market activity and whether or not we’re headed for full-scale economic Armageddon, they all agreed there wasn’t a better city than New York in which to watch the action unfold. Click here to see what they had to say. [more]

Thor’s Joe Sitt and the Scribner Building

[Updated at 3.40 p.m.] Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities has closed on the purchase of the Scribner Building at 597 Fifth Avenue from A & A Acquisitions for $99 million, according to a deed recorded with the city today. The 12-story building, between 48th and 49th streets, includes 12,000 square feet of retail and 58,000 square feet of office space.

As previously reported by the Post, Thor went into contract to buy the building in June in a deal that encompassed 50,000 square feet of air rights and the adjacent building at 3 East 48th Street.

The contract price was previously reported as $108.5 million. The slight change in price, a source close to the deal said, was simply due to fees. [more]

From left: Jeffrey Gural of Newmark Knight Frank, Jeffrey Levine of Douglaston Development, David Weprin, Joe Sitt of Thor Equities and Frank Sciame, Jr. of F.J. Sciame Construction

Today, state Assemblyman David Weprin will get the nod from the
Democratic Party to run for Anthony Weiner’s old seat in Congress, which
he is expected to win.

And even though that seat, New York’s 9th, probably won’t be around for
long — population changes will likely force the state to phase it out in 2012
– some real estate executives are happy to have somebody they have close
ties to representing them in Washington, even for the short-term.

“He’s a good guy, and I don’t think the real estate industry has anything to
worry about,” said Jeffrey Gural, chairman of Newmark Knight Frank, who
contributed $2,000 to Weprin in 2010 for his assembly race, according to
campaign finance records. [more]

Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities is in contract to purchase the Scribner Building for $108.5 million, according to the Post. The 12-story plus penthouse building at 597 Fifth Avenue, between 48th and 49th streets features over 12,000 square feet of retail and around 58,000 square feet of office space.

The deal also encompasses the adjacent building at 3 East 48th Street and 50,000 square feet of air rights.

Leading beauty retailer Sephora is the current anchor tenant in the landmarked interior. [more]

Already home to a shopping center featuring Best Buy, Toys R Us and Kohl’s, Brooklyn’s southeastern waterfront could get two more big-box retail centers if developers get their way, the Wall Street Journal reported. Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities is seeking approval for a $150 million project to build a 200,000-square-foot shopping center and 2.4-acre public waterfront on a pier near Gravesend Bay. Sitt has already secured a tentative 20-year lease with BJ’s Wholesale Club to anchor the site. Adjacent to that waterfront is a 4.5 acre plot of land owned by the Cropsey Family, which is soliciting developers to extend the site into the water and bring in big-box stores. There’s also a separate 15-acre plot near Four Sparrow March in Mill Basin, Brooklyn, where developers want to bring in a car dealership and retail center, that under environmental review but could run into delays because of a connection to the Carl Kruger corruption case. [more]

Fascinating Faber’s, the 50-year-old arcade that Thor Equities demolished last year, is rising from the dead — in another Thor Equities property. The Brooklyn Paper reported that Carlo Muraco, who has owned the arcade since the early 1990s, is subletting the first floor of space in a West 12th Street building owned by Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities. Joya Funding Group is leasing the space. Unlike the old location at Henderson’s Music Hall on Stillwell and Surf avenues, the new space will not display the famous “Faber’s Fascination” sign, but rather a vintage-styled “Faber’s Game World” sign. [more]