Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities is looking to sell a four-story Soho retail building fully leased to Dolce & Gabbana, in the hopes of scoring a sizable profit, sources told The Real Deal.
Last year, the luxury fashion house signed a triple-net lease to occupy all four floors of the 14,600-square-foot property at 155 Mercer Street, between Prince and West Houston streets. The building, which is part of the Soho-Cast Iron Historic District, will serve as Dolce & Gabbana’s first full-service boutique in Soho and its third outpost in Manhattan.
Thor Equities [TRData], a major Midtown West-based investment and development firm, is in the process of revamping the property for Dolce & Gabbana’s use. PKSB handled the design. Renovations include a restoration of the one-time firehouse’s 1854 façade and a new storefront.
Meridian Capital Group’s [TRData] Helen Hwang [TRData] is marketing the building for sale. The asking price for the property was not immediately clear.
“The opportunity to control a standalone retail property of this size anywhere in Manhattan is a rarity,” Hwang said.
The building features floor-to-ceiling windows, ceiling heights ranging from 15 to 21 feet, and 45 feet of frontage.
Average ground-floor retail asking rents in the neighborhood are $600 to $800 per square foot.
In 2013, Thor acquired the building for $27.3 million from nonprofit the Joyce Theater Foundation, which was also a tenant. The property was a former firehouse.
Thor is particularly active, having picked up retail co-ops at 169 Mercer Street and 424 Broome Street for $27 million and sold a retail co-op at 138 Greene Street for $38.5 million in recent months.
Luxury brands such as Versace, Tory Burch and Helmut Lang also have retail locations on Mercer Street. Dolce & Gabbana has stores uptown at 827 Madison Avenue and 717 Fifth Avenue.