Thor Equities Acquires 387,546-SF Mall

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO-Thor Equities has acquired Centro GranCaribe, a 387,546-sf enclosed suburban mall near here for $61.5 million. The New York-based retail investor acquired the asset from Decemcor, a San Juan-based private company. The property is 96% leased.The property is located on 27.5 acres along Route 2 in Vega Alta, 18 miles west of San Juan. Big Kmart and the Wal-Mart affiliated Amigo Supermarket anchor the development along with Caribbean Cinemas. In addition to the main anchors, the mix of national and local tenants in the mall includes Foot Locker, Radio Shack, Payless Shoes, KayBee Toys, Kress, Marianne, Infinito and Journey. The property also contains 12 medical and dental offices, along with an 11-restaurant-food court. Thor, which has started branding its assets with the “Gallery” name, has renamed the asset the Gallery at Gran Caribe.Thor Equities chairman/CEO Joseph Sitt tells GlobeSt.com that the plan is to expand the center by about 18% and bring in big box tenants. “This mall is a fixture in the community, and we hope to build upon its success and make it an even more viable asset,” says Sitt. “We like Puerto Rico; it is a very dense market growing at a very quick pace.” Sitt says Thor Equities has two divisions. One side concentrates on stabilized urban infill properties in major metropolitan cities such as Boston, New York and Chicago. The other side concentrates on value-add properties with a strong ethnic consumer base, be it Hispanic, African American or Asian. Sitt says the company is on its way to spending some $750 million worth of properties this year, evenly split between the two divisions.Granite Partners LLC, a New York-based national real estate investment banking firm, represented Decemcor in the disposition.