Kassirer flips Upper West Side building to Akelius for $72M

His Emerald Equity Group bought 838 West End Ave for $64.5M just a few weeks ago

From left: 838 West End Avenue, Isaac Kassirer, Kunal Chothani (Credit: Elegran and Emerald Equity Group)
From left: 838 West End Avenue, Isaac Kassirer, Kunal Chothani (Credit: Elegran and Emerald Equity Group)

Isaac Kassirer flipped an Upper West Side building he bought from Thor Equities and Rockwood Capital for a quick profit to the local arm of Swedish real estate investor Akelius.

Akelius Real Estate Management paid $72 million to buy the 68-unit 838 West End Avenue, the company announced Thursday.

But that’s a premium of $7.5 million over what the 98,000-square-foot building at the corner of West 101st Street just traded for about two weeks ago.

Kassirer’s Emerald Equity Group signed a contract in late December to buy the property for $64.5 million, as The Real Deal reported at the time.

Property records show Kassirer closed on that purchase late last month, and sources said he turned around and flipped the property to Akelius for the $72 million purchase price. A source with knowledge of the deal said Kassirer paid an extra $2.5 million in fees to extend the contract that doesn’t show up in property records.

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Representatives for Kassirer and Aeklius could not be immediately reached for comment. Aaron Jungreis and Billy Billitzer of Rosewood Realty Group sold the buildings to Akelius on behalf of Kassirer, and they declined to comment.

The deal is a savvy move for Kassirer, who saw an opportunity to buy an asset at a low price and turn it for a quick profit.

Representatives for Thor and Rockwood declined to comment.

The two partners bought the building for $64.65 million in 2014, property records show, and it was one of the first properties that Joe Sitt’s Thor purchased for its residential division.