Thor Closing In On Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park

Joe Sitt and Thor Equities could be closing on almost 80,000 square feet of two sections that are part of Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park for about $11 Million.

Stephen Witt of the Kings Courier has reported:

“Thor has decided to add to his collection of real estate,” said Vourderis (co-owner and operator of the Wonder Wheel with his brother). “My brother and I both have the option to purchase [the kiddie park property] because we are on long-term lease with [Jack] Ward (of Ward Realty Corporation which currently owns both properties) dating back to 1970,” he added.

Vourderis said part of the legal terms of the lease is they had to be notified if Ward was selling the property and given 30 days to match the offer.

They recently received the notification of the pending sale. Neither Ward nor Sitt could be reached for comment about the sale at press time.

“We’re in kind of a difficult situation. At $2 a pop we’d have to sell a lot of [Wonder Wheel] tickets to match the offer,” said Vourderis. Vourderis said the brothers do have some leverage, though, as the lease also states that even if the property is sold, the long-term lease states the kiddie park can’t be moved until the Wheel turns 100 in 2020.

Somehow this new situation comes as no surprise!

Joe Sitt goes after kiddie park - Developer to add more real estate to Coney Island holdings [Kings Courier]