VNO Weighs Exits from DC, Retail Platforms

NEW YORK CITY—Having already spun off its shopping center business into a separate, publicly traded REIT, Vornado Realty Trust is considering selling off its street retail properties as well as its Washington, DC holdings. Chairman and CEO Steven Roth made the announcement in his annual letter to the VNO’s shareholders, filed with the SEC on Friday.

“We are confident that we will do very well in Washington as over time we raise the occupancy rate and income level back to normal and execute on the trove of development opportunities we have,” Roth wrote, referring to the city in which the New York City-based REIT controls 16.1 million square feet of office as well as seven residential properties. “Nevertheless, we have considered and are still considering options with respect to our Washington business, such as inviting in a new investor(s) or even separating the business in a spin or in a spin-merge. Ditto for our street retail business.”