Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities could soon lose yet another property.
The owner of 545 Madison Avenue is looking to evict Thor, which paid $53 million for a ground lease at the building in late 2013, according to Crain’s. The arrangement essentially let Thor act as the property’s landlord in exchange for rental payments to the underlying owner Marx Realty.
Thor started falling behind on rent payments as tenants left the property, and Marx Realty started trying to evict the firm in July. Marx claims that Thor has not paid $554,583 in rent that had been due July 1, and it also says Thor owes more than $1.6 million in real estate taxes on the building.
Tenants that have left the property include the luxury retailer Dunhill and Panache Bridal. Thor had sued Panache Bridal earlier in the year, saying it owes Thor about $250,000 in rent.
Thor has recently lost control of several properties. It gave up ownership of 1231 Third Avenue on the Upper East Side last July and sold 838 West End Avenue last January for $65 million, $2 million less than they bought it for.
The firm announced plans in August to launch ThorLogis, a $900 million initiative to buy and develop logistics properties. It already has a project in the works in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and another in the Netherlands. The Red Hook project will break ground next year and span 700,000 square feet. The industrial market has seen a surge in activity. This summer, Blackstone Group set a record with its $18 billion buy of GLP Pte’s U.S. industrial portfolio. [Crain’s] — Eddie Small