Michael Fascitelli steps down as Vornado CEO

Office and retail landlord Vornado Realty Trust announced this morning that CEO Michael Fascitelli is leaving the firm. He will be replaced by Chairman Steven Roth. Also, Vornado signed a lease with Sunglass Hut for the corner space in 1540 Broadway, at the corner of 45th Street.

Fascitelli joined the Manhattan-based trust in 1997 and was tapped as its chief executive in 2009; he will step down April 17, Vornado said. Roth indicated he will take over the CEO job only temporarily.

“We will focus hard on a succession plan,” Roth said during the firm’s fourth quarter 2012 earnings call this morning.

The Sunglass Hut deal, according to the trust, is a record for the Times Square submarket; the sunglasses retailer will take most of the area that Microsoft had leased as a holiday pop-up store. The size of the space was not immediately available, but price per square foot is for $2,025.

“We have just completed a new lease with Sunglass Hut for the majority of this [Microsoft] space at a net rent of $2,025 per square foot, a record in this submarket,” David Greenbaum, president of the New York office division, said during the call.

Greenbaum added that Sunglass Hut also signed a separate lease for signage above the store.