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.
Sitt, the CEO of Thor, declined to comment on the transaction, but was previously quoted as saying the building was a “jewel in Thor’s portfolio.”
The current anchor tenant of the property is cosmetics retailer Sephora, which signed a 10-year lease in 2004. At that time, it was reported that the asking price for the lease was $2 million a year.
The building last traded for $79.1 million in 2006, when A & A Acquisitions bought it for $1,015 a square foot. A & A declined to comment regarding the sale.