Vornado Realty Trust purchased a major stocking stuffer Tuesday, Nov. 28 in the form of the Manhattan Mall for $689 million from German fund, HausInvest Global. The one-million-square foot office and retail property located on Sixth Avenue between 32nd and 33rd streets is 97% leased and adds to Vornado's presence in the Penn Station area. The New York-based real estate investment trust already owns four office buildings that make up Penn Plaza, which surrounds Pennsylvania Station. With its heavy investments in the Penn Station area, Vornado is making a big bet that the neighborhood will make a big turnaround like the Times Square area has further north. The deal for Manhattan Mall has plenty of upside with 250,000 square feet of air rights, which would allow Vornado to build higher.
The purchase, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007, is subject to customary closing conditions. Vornado's most recent retail purchases were:
44 previously closed Toys “R” Us stores for up to $190 million on Sept. 14, 2006 and 656,000-square-foot Filene's Basement property located in the Downtown Crossing district of Boston for $100 million on July 10, 2006. — Gerald Magpily
See Crain's Business article
See TheStreet.com article
See press release
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