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The chain of command: Vornado Realty Trust
The publicly traded firm has spent the last few years cutting the fat by narrowing its portfolio and shedding divisions
Vornado Realty Trust, one of New York City’s top commercial landlords, has spent the last few years in shuffle mode. The publicly traded firm recently sold a chunk of office and retail properties around the county and spun off two divisions, including one focused on the D.C. market, to pare down its robust portfolio.
Between 2013 and 2017, the REIT sold a handful of NYC office buildings, including 1740 Broadway, 20 Broad Street and 866 United Nations Plaza, and saw Sears — a major anchor at its Rego Park Center in Queens — shut its doors. The firm is now in negotiations to sell its 49.5 percent stake in 666 Fifth Avenue to its joint-venture partner, Kushner Companies. Vornado has also been unloading retail condos in Manhattan, including the Marquand condo conversion at 11 East 68th Street.
The REIT now controls about 20 million square feet of office space in 36 Manhattan buildings, many near Penn Station, as well as 2.7 million square feet of New York retail space, recent SEC filings show. The firm, based at 888 Seventh Avenue, brought in $2.5 billion in revenue in 2016, according to its most recent annual report.
Meanwhile, Vornado is developing a handful of new Manhattan office buildings, including 512 West 22nd Street, near the High Line. Most notable perhaps is the firm’s ongoing partnership with Related Companies to redevelop the landmark Farley Post Office on Eighth Avenue as a new Amtrak station — with 120,000 square feet of stores and 730,000 square feet of offices. That’s a big bet on a neighborhood Vornado has long favored.
Vornado is also getting ready to open its $1.3 billion luxury condo tower at 220 Central Park South this year. The company launched sales at the 117-unit building in 2015 and has released little info about the project’s sellout since. But its chairman and CEO Steven Roth boldly called the 950-foot supertall “the best apartment house in town” in his most recent annual shareholders letter.
All told, as of 2016, Vornado had 41 executive vice presidents and 86 vice presidents. Here’s a look at the REIT’s senior leaders in 2018.
(Click to enlarge)