Vornado Realty Trust is making a big change atop its retail pyramid. The real estate investment trust hired Edward Hogan from Brookfield Office Properties to head up retail leasing, while Sherri White, its former retail leasing director, is headed to Witkoff.
Hogan will now take the lead on leasing the REIT’s 2.8 million-square-foot retail portfolio, according to a memo sent to staff by Vornado chair Steven Roth, and will become a key part of its master plan to Overhaul The Penn Plaza area.
According to Roth’s memo, obtained by Capital New York, Hogan will be “part of the leadership team working to transform our vast holdings in the Penn Plaza District.” Vornado owns roughly nine million square feet in the area, currently considered second-rate for office tenants, and plans to invest hundreds of millions to upgrade its status with retail and public space.
While at Brookfield, Hogan was responsible for leasing Brookfield Place’s 375,000 square feet of retail space.
Of White, Roth wrote, “Sherri is a whiz, expert in her field, very creative at cutting up space, well known and well-liked by the community.” In her time at Vornado, White completed 338 street retail leases spanning 2.3 million square feet, according to the memo.
White is the second top female executive to leave the company recently, after Wendy Silverstein, the co-head of acquisitions and capital markets, departed after 15 years.– Tess Hofmann