From left: Michael Fascitelli, CEO of Vornado Realty Trust, and Sherri White, senior vice president at Vornado, at the Marquee Nightclub at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas hotel

It’s become a cliche to say much of the deal making at the annual International Council of Shopping Centers’ retail bash RECon in Las Vegas takes place at the parties surrounding the convention, even if it’s true. To get a closer look, The Real Deal visited a handful of those gabfests. Click here to see the photos and more.

693 Fifth Avenue

In its ongoing effort to land a retail tenant for the former Takashimaya building on Fifth Avenue, Thor Equities is spending another $5 million to spruce up the six-floor space, Crain’s reported. The space has been on the market for 19 months, CoStar Group data shows.

The upgrade intends to convert 2,000 square feet of lobby space into retail space and brings the total six-floor retail square footage to 44,500. When complete in September, a three-story glass facade will also be added to the building. Once a retailer is signed on, Thor will spend millions more to build out the space. [more]

Thor Equities CEO Joseph Sitt and 446 West 14th Street (credit: PropertyShark)

Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities is seeking $45 million for a Meatpacking District property it bought five years ago for about half that amount, Crain’s reported. Thor commissioned Jones Lang LaSalle to find a buyer for the three-story, 15,525-square-foot building, at 446 West 14th Street, between Washington Street and 10th Avenue, it bought for $23.4 million in 2007. [more]

From left: Thor CEO Joseph Sitt and 516-520 Fifth Avenue (credit: PropertyShark)

Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities filed demolition plans yesterday for three adjacent properties on Fifth Avenue, according to city Department of Buildings records. Thor plans to redevelop the three buildings, located at 516, 518 and 520 Fifth Avenue between 43rd and 44th streets, into a 300,000-square-foot building, a spokesperson said. The plans call for building “an architecturally significant modern glass building,” according to a press release the firm sent to The Real Deal. [more]

From left: Eldorado Auto Skooters, at 1216-1218 Surf Avenue and Joseph Sitt of Thor Equities

Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities has closed on the purchase of another set of parcels of land in Coney Island, Amusing the Zillion blog reported. The sale, for $4.5 million, included two buildings: the Eldorado Auto Skooters at 1216-1218 Surf Avenue, and the arcade at 1215 Bowery. The beloved bumper cars, also called the Eldorado Auto Skooters, may continue to operate for up to a year, according to other reports from ATZ. [more]

From left: 60 East 66th Street and Joseph Sitt, president of Thor Equities

A neo-French Renaissance-style townhouse property at 60 East 66th Street owned by Thor Equities has hit the market for $20.75 million, more than twice what Thor paid for it in 2010, according to Streeteasy.com.

The five-bedroom, five-bathroom property, the ground floor of which is currently occupied by the Adam Baumgold Gallery, an art showroom selling 20th century, post-war and contemporary art including such artists as Grosz, Magritte, Picasso, Steinberg and Warhol, is listed with Danny Davis, Ginger Brokaw and Patty LaRocco of Town Residential. [more]

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]