Vornado Realty Trust is a

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping cente ...

formed in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

in 1982, with its primary office in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The company invests in office buildings and street retail in Manhattan.

Investments

Notable properties owned by the company include: *

New York Marriott Marquis The New York Marriott Marquis is a Marriott hotel on Times Square, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Designed by architect John C. Portman Jr., the hotel is at 1535 Broadway, between 45th and 46th Streets. With 1 ...

(Retail & signage) *

1540 Broadway 1540 Broadway, formerly the Bertelsmann Building, is a 44-story office building on Times Square in the Theater District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the building was ...

(Retail & signage) * 510 Fifth Avenue (Retail) * 660 Fifth Avenue (Retail) * 770 Broadway *

888 Seventh Avenue 888 Seventh Avenue is a 628 ft (191m) tall modern-style office skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan which was completed in 1969 and has 46 floors. Emery Roth & Sons designed the building. 888 Seventh Avenue is "L"-shaped in plan, with wings ext ...

Crowne Plaza Hotel, Times Square The Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan (originally the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Manhattan) is a hotel at 1601 Broadway, between 48th and 49th Streets, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The hotel is operated by thi ...

(Retail & office) * Fuller Building *

Penn 1 Penn 1 (originally One Penn Plaza) is a skyscraper in New York City, located between 33rd Street and 34th Street, west of Seventh Avenue, and adjacent to Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden. It is the tallest building in the Penn ...

(

One Penn Plaza Penn 1 (originally One Penn Plaza) is a skyscraper in New York City, located between 33rd Street and 34th Street, west of Seventh Avenue, and adjacent to Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden. It is the tallest building in the Penn ...

) *

Rego Center Rego Center is a shopping mall bordered by the Long Island Expressway, Junction Boulevard, Queens Boulevard, 63rd Drive, and 99th Street in the Rego Park neighborhood of Queens in New York City. History The property was originally the only Quee ...

Hotel Pennsylvania The Hotel Pennsylvania was a historic hotel at 401 Seventh Avenue (15 Penn Plaza) in Manhattan, across the street from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden in New York City. Opened in 1919, it was once the largest hotel in the world. ...

, to be redeveloped into 15 Penn Plaza The company also owns: * 70% of

555 California Street 555 California Street, formerly Bank of America Center, is a 52-story skyscraper in San Francisco, California. It is the fourth tallest building in the city as of February 2021, and in 2013 was the largest by floor area. Completed in 1969, the ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

(30% is owned by affiliates of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

) * 70% of 1290 Avenues of the Americas in

(30% is owned by Donald Trump) *

Merchandise Mart The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is locate ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

* 32.4% of

Alexander's Alexander's is a real estate investment trust that owns 7 properties in New York metropolitan area, including 731 Lexington Avenue, the headquarters of Bloomberg L.P. It is controlled by Vornado Realty Trust. It was founded by George Farkas and ...

, which owns

731 Lexington Avenue 731 Lexington Avenue is a mixed-use glass skyscraper on Lexington Avenue, on the East Side of Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Opened in 2004, it houses the headquarters of Bloomberg L.P. and as a result, is sometimes referred to informally as ...

History

Two Guys

The origins of the company can be traced back to the

Two Guys Two Guys from Harrison (later shortened to Two Guys) is a former discount store chain founded in 1946 by brothers Herbert and Sidney Hubschman in Harrison, New Jersey, originally selling major appliances such as televisions. The chain acquired ...

discount store chain, founded in 1947 by brothers Sidney and Herbert Hubschman. In 1959,

acquired O. A. Sutton Corporation, manufacturers of the Vornado line of electric fans, and the company was renamed Vornado Inc. By 1964, the company operated over 200 stores. In the 1970s, Vornado began divesting its retail operations. In 1978, the company sold 80 Two Guys locations in California. In 1980, Interstate Properties Inc., a

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parcels ...

company controlled by Steven Roth, acquired an 18% stake in Vornado, since Roth became interested in the company's real estate holdings. In 1981, Interstate Properties took control of the firm after winning a proxy struggle against existing management and closed additional stores, reducing the number of stores in operation to 12.

Acquisition of Alexander's (1986–1995)

In 1986, Interstate Properties and

each bought approximately 20% of

, a failing retailer whose real estate holdings included a store that occupied the entire block between East 58th and 59th streets and Lexington and

Third Avenue Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...

s in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. In 1988, they each raised their stakes to 27% of the company, but Trump pledged his interest as collateral for a personal loan from

Citicorp Citigroup Inc. or Citi (stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomer ...

and in 1991, Trump was forced to turn over his holdings to Citibank. In 1992, Roth and Alexander's creditors forced Alexander's into bankruptcy. Alexander's emerged from bankruptcy in 1993 as a

. That same year, Vornado Inc. was converted into a

REIT A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping ce ...

, Vornado Realty Trust. In 1995, Vornado bought Citicorp's interest in Alexander's.

Vornado Air licensing deal (1989)

In 1989, the Vornado name was

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Vornado Air Vornado is an American firm based in Andover, Kansas, that designs and manufactures household fans and other small appliances related to air circulation. The current incarnation of the company was founded in 1989, two years after the death of Ralp ...

, LLC, a new company formed to manufacture heating and cooling equipment. Outside of the brand licensing agreement, the Trust has no modern relation to Vornado Air, LLC.

Acquisition of properties from Bernard H. Mendik (1997)

In April 1997, the company acquired a company owned by

Bernard H. Mendik Bernard Hyman Mendik (May 29, 1929May 28, 2001) was an American real estate developer, founder of the Mendik Company, and chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York. Biography Mendik was born to a Scottish Jews, Jewish family in Glasgow, Sco ...

in a $654 million stock transaction that added a large portfolio of office buildings in Manhattan to Vornado's assets. Mendik became co-chairman of Vornado until his resignation in October 1998.

World Trade Center lease (2001)

On February 15, 2001, the Port Authority announced that Vornado Realty Trust had won the bid for a 99-year lease for the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

, offering $3.25 billion.

Silverstein Properties Silverstein Properties, Inc. (SPI) is a family held, full-service real estate development, investment and management firm based in New York City. Founded in 1957 by Chairman Larry Silverstein, the company specializes in developing, acquiring, an ...

was outbid by $30 million by Vornado. However, Vornado balked over lease terms and possible tax liabilities. Silverstein signed a lease for the World Trade Center in April 2001, 5 months before the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

2001–present

In 2001, the company acquired Charles E. Smith Commercial Realty, owner of a portfolio of assets primarily in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

, in a $1.58 billion transaction. Robert H. Smith and

Robert P. Kogod Robert P. Kogod is a business executive and philanthropist. Along with his brother-in-law, Robert Smith (philanthropist), Robert H. Smith, Kogod led the Charles E. Smith Companies, the real estate company that developed much of the Crystal City, Vi ...

were added to the board of directors of Vornado. In 2005, the company bought a 32.5% interest in

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loc ...

. Toys "R" Us filed

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 2018 and the investment was written off. In 2013, Steven Roth replaced Michael D. Fascitelli as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Vornado. Fascitelli had been CEO since 2009. In 2015, the company spun off its interest in Urban Edge Properties, a spinoff consisting of its former retail holdings outside Manhattan, to its shareholders. In 2017, the company merged its Charles E. Smith Companies subsidiary into the JBG Companies, forming

JBG Smith JBG SMITH Properties is a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of December 31, 2020, the company owned 62 properties and has 2 additional properties under construction, all of which are in the Washington me ...

References

External links

{{Authority control 1982 establishments in New York (state) Companies based in New York City Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Financial services companies established in 1982 Property management companies Real estate companies established in 1982 Real estate investment trusts of the United States Roth family