The two shopping centers contain a total of 185,000 sf, currently 100% leased, in Lodi, NJ and Inwood, NY. The total purchase price for the properties is $47.5 million, according to Vornado officials, with the New Jersey deal done and the Long Island property under contract. Vornado did not respond to a request for more information about the two properties.

The company has also announced that it has entered into agreements to acquire two retail condominiums containing 12,000 sf in the SoHo section of Manhattan for approximately $21.8 million. The two properties are situated near a 92,500-sf SoHo retail property in which Vornado recently acquired a 50% interest. The latest acquisitions are expected to close this month.

Each of the acquisitions is being funded as part of 1031 tax-free exchanges with a portion of the proceeds of the recent sale of the company's Palisades residential complex, a 538-unit high-rise in Fort Lee, NJ, and Dundalk Center, a 183,000-sf strip shopping center in Dundalk, MD.

And in yet another transaction, Vornado has acquired a $43.5 million mezzanine loan secured by Charles Square, a mixed-use asset in Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA. Charles Square includes 110,000 sf of office space, 30,000 sf of retail space, the 293-room Charles Hotel, a conference center and a 568-car parking facility. The loan, which is subordinate to $82.5 million of other debt, carries an interest rate of 7.56% and matures in September of 2009.