Project Development Spurred Vornado’s Growth in 2Q17

Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) reported decent results in 2Q17. Its top line and bottom line surpassed results from 2Q16 backed by higher rent and new lease activities.

Vornado is building a residential condominium tower for an estimated cost of $1.3 billion. Out of the total budget, the company had spent almost $745 million as of June 30, 2017. The tower will have over 397,000 saleable square feet and is located on its 220 Central Park South development site.

Vornado is also developing a premium office building at 512 West 22nd Street in the West Chelsea submarket of Manhattan spanning 173,000 square feet. Vornado’s cost share in the development of this project is $72 million, of which it has spent almost $28 million.

Vornado is also developing a 170,000-square-foot office and retail building at 61 Ninth Avenue. Vornado’s share in the development project is $69 million, of which $33.4 million has already been spent. In addition, Vornado is developing a 34,000-square-foot office and retail building at 606 Broadway.

In partnership with Related Companies, Vornado is remodeling the Farley Post Office building into the Moynihan Train Hall along with a rentable 850,000 square feet of office space. The building is also going to include an ancillary retail space. 

Vornado’s peers like AvalonBay Communities (AVB), Boston Properties (BXP), and Equity Residential (EQR) in the REIT sector are resorting to the development and redevelopment of their portfolio to maintain profit. These companies occupy almost 12% of the iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF (ICF). ICF’s market cap and wide product diversity offer investors a cushion against macro headwinds.