650 Madison Avenue

Major New York players such as Vornado Realty Trust, Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. and Crown Acquisitions have moved to nab Carlyle Group’s 650 Madison Avenue office tower, with some bids coming in at north of $1.3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. [more]

Ronn Torossian and 1166 Avenue of the Americas

Communications firm 5W Public Relations has taken a 38,166-square-foot space at Minskoff Equities’ 1166 Avenue of the Americas, the company’s CEO, Ronn Torossian, told The Real Deal today. [more]

From left: Vornado’s Craig Panzirer, 11 Penn Plaza and Cushman & Wakefield’s Dale Schlather

The priciest office lease deal signed in the first quarter of 2013 was Macy’s $620-plus million renewal at 11 Penn Plaza, according to The Real Deal’s first-ever quarterly ranking of Manhattan’s most valuable leases.  [more]

Vornado CEO Steven Roth and J.C. Penney store in Manhattan Mall

Vornado Realty Trust chairman Steven Roth could be ousted from the board of J.C. Penney for playing a role in recruiting the retailer’s ousted CEO Ron Johnson, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A proxy firm is advising that J.C. Penney investors remove Roth, a director who serves on the board’s corporate governance committee. Egan-Jones Proxy Services did not comment to the Journal on Roth’s connection to the recruitment. [more]

From left: Steven Roth and Joseph Macnow

Vornado Realty Trust officials outlined a plan today to divvy up former CEO Michael Fascitelli’s responsibilities among several of the real estate investment trust’s New York City executives. Additionally, the company will continue to divest non-core assets, and sell more properties this year than it intends to buy, Chairman and CEO Steven Roth said during the REIT’s first quarter earnings call. The post-Fascitelli succession plan involves promoting Chief Financial Officer Joseph Macnow to the newly-created position of chief administrative officer, and replacing him with Steve Theriot, formerly Vornado’s audit partner at Deloitte & Touche.  [more]

Vornado’s Steven Roth, 280 Park and Sl Green’s Marc Holliday

Two 280 Park Avenue tenants — which were formerly in smaller, temporary spaces inside the 1.2 million-square-foot building — have inked deals that more than double their footprints, GlobeSt. reported. Asset management firm Blue Mountain Capital and consulting firm Promontory Financial Group now each have a 49,541-square-foot floor. [more]

From left: Harlem Park and Steven Roth of Vornado

Vornado Realty Trust will sell Harlem Park — a plot of land that was previously designated for the development of an office building, the New York Observer reported. The site, located at 1800 Park Avenue at 125th Street, will yield $62 million in proceeds and a $22 million net gain. [more]

From left: 7 West 34th Street, Steven Roth and the Hotel Pennsylvania (credit: PropertyShark)

Vornado Realty Trust is planning to renovate its properties around Penn Station in a push to improve the neighborhood, the Wall Street Journal reported.  [more]

Steven Roth

Vornado Realty Trust will sell more properties than it acquires this year, chairman Steven Roth said in his annual letter to investors, according to Bloomberg News.

“I can see the bubble on the horizon; the fat lady entering the building,” Roth wrote in the letter, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. “My belly tells me that prices are now higher than future prospects and therefore, we will buy carefully and likely sell more than we buy.”  [more]

1290 Sixth Avenue

State Street Bank has inked a 105,951-square-foot deal at Vornado Realty Trust’s 1290 Sixth Avenue, also known as the AXA Financial Center, the New York Post reported.

The 10-year deal is a major shot in the arm for the sluggish Sixth Avenue corridor. State Street will take the entire sixth floor, which more than doubles the bank’s presence in the building, and will vacate 70,000 square feet at Brookfield Office Properties’ 2 World Financial Center, as well as it part of the 10th floor that it occupies under a sublease at 1290 Sixth Avenue.  [more]