Midtown Manhattan Office Building Under Contract for $525M

New York City-based Thor Equities in under contract to sell 693 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, a 20 floor office/retail building with Valentino's flagship store as its anchor, for $525 million, or nearly four times what the company paid for the property. While the buyer was not disclosed, sources told the Commercial Observer that it is a non-commercial developer. Joe Sitt of Thor Equities purchased the slender building for $142.5 million in 2010, beating out competitive bids from Vornado Realty Trust, SL Green Realty and watch retailer Swatch. Thor announced in March that it was seeking to sell several of its Fifth Avenue properties, including 590 Fifth Avenue and the retail portion of 530 Fifth Avenue, which it owns in a join venture with Scott Rechler’s RXR Realty and General Growth Properties.

Built in 1991, 693 Fifth Avenue in the Plaza District contains 97,500 square feet and was previously owned and occupied by Takashimaya, a Japanese department store company. After purchase, Thor Equities invested $5 million to renovate the former Takashimaya Building, including a redesigned façade and office tower lobby by the celebrated David Chipperfield Architects and lighting by Mario Nanni of Viabizzuno in Milan. Fashion house Valentino set a (then) city ground floor rent record when it signed a lease at the property for 19,600 square feet of retail space to serve as the company's NYC location for $3,000 per foot; the 6-story retail space was previously occupied by retailer Forever 21 via a series of short-term leases over three years.

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