NEW YORK CITY—In conjunction with his former Vornado Realty Trust colleague Eric Birnbaum, Michael Fascitelli has returned to the New York City real estate scene, quietly working on a residential development in Hudson Yards through a new investment firm, Imperial Companies, reports The Real Deal.

The move comes about one and a half years after Fascitelli left Vornado after close to 16 years with the REIT. Imperial was not available for comment at press time but during a recent interview, the Real Deal reports, Fascitelli said he was looking to get back into real estate with “value-added development opportunities.”

Imperial has opened an office on the 27th floor of 888 Seventh Ave., the Vornado-owned office tower that also serves as the REIT's headquarters. The building is familiar territory for the two men who worked closely during their time at Vornado.

Prior to joining the company in 1997,  Fascitelli worked in the real estate division of Goldman Sachs. He became one of the most high-profile figures on the real estate scene, and during his stint as Vornado's CEO, the publicly traded company made big moves, like its $140 million investment to redevelop the Marriott Marquis retail space at 1535 Broadway and it provided a big infusion of money into JC Penney. That investment led to a loss of nearly $225 million, the Real Deal notes.

When Fascitelli left Vornado, he attributed the move to burnout but at least one industry insider says he may have clashed with Vornado chairman Steven Roth. Despite his departure, Fascitelli still serves on the company's board of trustees.

For his part, Birnbaum spent about six years at Vornado in the acquisitions and capital markets group as well as the in-house development team.

He struck out on his own in 2009 to form ELB Holdings, a company that repositioned and sold some 2,000 residential units, assembled a large development site on 42nd Street and began developing a 225-unit rental building in Hudson Yards—at 509 W. 38^th St.—under its Iliad Realty Group division.