New York-based urban real estate development firm Thor Equities has entered into an agreement to acquire a portfolio of three office buildings in midtown Manhattan for $218 million from real estate development and management firm Samson Management. The acquisition, which includes 24 West 40th Street, 45 West 45th Street and 145 West 45th Street, totals 320,000 square feet.
Thor plans to raise $80 million in co-investment capital from investors for the properties, which it intends to upgrade over the next 18 months to two years to bring in tenants from the technology industry, noted Thor chief executive officer Joseph Sitt.
“We’re strong believers in the tech industry’s migration to New York and other global gateway cities,” Sitt told PERE. “This is a rare opportunity to buy three properties right in the sweet spot of where we see the tech industry in New York moving to.”
Currently, Thor is using co-investment capital for deals while it is in-between fundraisings. The firm’s most recent vehicle, Thor Urban Property Fund II, closed on $673 million in 2007. The firm expects to begin raising its next fund in 2015, according to sources familiar with the situation. Investors in the fund series include pension funds, investment banks, college endowments and foundations
In June, Thor appointed Jared Hart as head of European acquisitions in an effort to ramp up acquisitions in the region. The hire was aimed at “expanding its already growing global portfolio,” which includes the historic Burlington Arcade in the West End of London, a property on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris and a luxury retail asset on the Boulevard de la Croisette in Cannes.
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