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Sitt stands to gain a substantial windfall from the deal, as WTC area rental prices are rising.
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Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities has contracted to buy the retail site at 120 Greenwich Street, on the corner of Albany, just south of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, for $35.5 million, the New York Post reported. Retailers Blue Planet Grill and an Asian Fusion Spot are the current leaseholders there and have already agreed to buyouts.
The location includes three commercial condominiums with a combined 4, 683 feet on the ground and 863 square feet on the lower level, plus 208 feet of frontage that goes around three sides of the building.
Rent for retail space in the area where the new World Trade Center is still under construction is going for hundreds of dollars per square foot. This will mean a huge windfall for Sitt as the current tenants of the building are reportedly only paying about $100 per square foot. direction for Sitt, who has recently gone on a shopping spree acquiring many retail assets further uptown in Manhattan, around Fifth Avenue and Soho.
Just last month, Sitt was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 Awards, held at the Marriot Marquis in New York City. The award honors distinguished entrepreneurs who demonstrate widespread success, a commitment to innovation and forward thinking, and an unwavering passion for business.
At the time Sitt said, “I am both honored and humbled to be chosen as an award winner by Ernst and Young. The level of competition in real estate is at an all-time high. Being recognized as a leader in the industry is tremendously rewarding.”
EY Entrepreneur of the Year award winners are selected by an independent panel of judges who are former recipients of the award themselves. As a New York based award winner, Joseph Sitt will be automatically eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur of The Year 2014 national program. The winner of that award will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California, November 15.
Thor Equities currently owns more than 60 properties in New York City alone, in addition to many more in Chicago, Miami, Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Outside the US, it has assets in London, Paris, Cannes and Mexico City.
Sitt named the company for the Marvel Comics superhero Thor. As Sitt said of his company, “One of the most special things about Thor Equities is our integration of so many different processes that are so integral to the investment of real estate. We’re a platform with many legs that work together to create synergy to maximize value for our investors, partners, community, and associates.”
Joseph J. Sitt, 50, is the CEO of Thor Equities and the chairman and managing principal of the Thor Urban Property Fund. He was born in Brooklyn to a Syrian Jewish family and is also the founder of the retail chain Ashley Stewart. The name for that company was inspired by Laura Ashley and Martha Stewart.
Last November, Sitt closed a deal to buy 65-67 Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris with the Israeli institutional investor the Harel Insurance company, for $343 million.
