Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities refinanced its retail condominium at 680 Madison Avenue with a $310 million loan package, according to sources and public records.
The financing includes a $215 million senior loan from JPMorgan Chase, public records show, which replaces a $185 million CMBS loan from Morgan Stanley. A source close to the deal said Thor also landed an additional $95 million loan from an unnamed lender. The new financing has a two-year term, the source said.
Thor and JPMorgan Chase could not immediately be reached for comment.
Thor bought a leasehold for the 35,526-square-foot retail condo at the base of Extell Development’s luxury residential tower for $277 million in 2013 and pays $3.45 million in annual ground rent. Last August, designer Tom Ford inked a 12,300-square-foot lease at the property, which remains 43 percent vacant according to research firm Trepp.
The Morgan Stanley loan was issued in 2014 and was originally set to expire in August 2016, but Thor exercised an option to extend it by a year. Thor owns several properties along the retail corridor, including 545 and 786 Madison Avenue. The firm has been among New York’s most aggressive retail investors in recent years, but a recent slowdown in the leasing market could pose challenges.