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.