Thor Equities, the famous New York City-based real estate company run by Joseph Sitt, has reportedly purchased three small office buildings in midtown New York City for a deal worth $218 million.
The New York Post broke the news of the purchase stating that Samson Management was the seller. The buildings in question here are small commercial properties located at 24 W. 40th St. on Bryant Park, 45 W. 45th St. and 145 W. 45th St. Each of them have retail space at the base and total an area of 320,000 square feet.
While there is no official news of the purchase, the Post cites inside sources that confirmed the deal. Sitt is now apparently in talks with investors to market the properties to media and technology companies.
Thor Equities did start out as a commercial real estate firm, but has been snapping up residential structures in the city as well. More recently, Sitt paid $12.5 million to buy the remaining 50 percent stake in the 88 Greenwich Street, a residential plus commercial building in which it already owned 50 percent stake, The Real Deal reports.
Thor's other recent acquisitions include three buildings along Fifth Avenue - 530 Fifth Avenue, 685 Fifth Avenue and 212 Fifth Avenue.
But, Thor has been building a portfolio for quite sometime now. In October last year, the company announced that it was expanding its real estate holdings into the residential sector.
"Residential real estate is booming in many American cities, presenting Thor with a one-of-a-kind opportunity to enter this expanding market," CEO Sitt was cited by Crain's New York.
"Utilizing the same strategy that we have successfully implemented in the commercial sector, this new sector will help round out our portfolio and present additional opportunities in the marketplace," he added.
Thor partnered with Alan Klein and Jonathan Fishman, former executives of Stonehenge partners, a residential real estate equity firm.
"Thor's reputation for maximizing the value of commercial real estate properties is unparalleled-we're focused on achieving the same success in the residential space," Klein added in the statement.