GreenOak Real Estate bought Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities out of its interest in three Upper West Side rental properties in a deal valuing them at a combined $190 million, sources told The Real Deal.
GreenOak closed this week on the buyout deal, paying about $130 million and $60 million to the joint ownership entity for two rental buildings at 120 and 125 Riverside Drive and one at 150 West 82nd Street, respectively, sources said.
Thor’s [TRDataCustom] residential arm had partnered with GreenOak to buy 120 and 125 Riverside Drive for $85 million in 2013 and then 150 West 82nd Street for $41.5 million in 2014. Thor had the minority stake in the three buildings, and the purchases marked GreenOak’s only partnership with Thor to date.
The properties have a combined 155 rental apartments – a mix of market-rate and rent-stabilized units – and 160,000 square foot. As a result of the buyout, their collective value is now north of $800 per square foot.
Sources said Thor saw a profit from the sale, but the extent of which was not immediately clear.
A Thor spokesperson confirmed the deal, saying that after restoring leasing at the three properties,“we felt the time was right” to sell the properties. “We look forward to continue adding to our substantial multifamily portfolio throughout New York City,” the spokesperson added.
Thor’s other Manhattan residential holdings include 838 and 840 West End Avenue, 98 Morningside Avenue, 516 West 111th Street, 17 West 125th Street, and a block of sponsor units at the Apthorp it owns with Michael Fascitelli’s Imperial Companies.
The Thor purchases had been led by Alan Klein and Jonathan Fishman, who launched and led a residential division that specialized in one-off multifamily acquisitions. Klein and Fishman left Thor earlier this year to launch Weaver Street Partners, a multifamily investment firm backed by Silverpeak Real Estate Partners. Since they left, Thor has been looking to exit its pending deal for a large Bronx rental building.
Separately, Thor has been scrambling to sell a handful of retail properties amid rampant vacancies.
A spokesperson for GreenOak declined to comment.
Last fall, GreenOak, a Midtown-based investment manager, was on the opposite end of a large buyout deal. Aby Rosen’s RFR Holding bought GreenOak Real Estate, East End Capital and Downtown Properties out of their majority interest in a 28-story office building at 285 Madison Avenue in Midtown for $334.1 million.
(To view more commercial sale transactions involving Thor Equities, click here)