NEW YORK | 15 Penn Plaza (Hotel Penn) | 1,200 FT / 388 M | 61 FLOORS

[Submariner]

Imagine this plus a new Penn Station.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Onn

Vornado getting the pot stirring in anticipation for a bigger goal.

It's also part of the city's broader goal for the area.

The recent commitments from major tenants, however, is a sign of that beginning to change, and that Vornado’s years-long plan to help transition the neighborhood into a more coveted office district is finally gathering steam.

Getting a tenant for 15 Penn would move that forward dramatically.

[JR Ewing]

Vornado apparently bought this site for $159m, which might enable it to offer a tenant a much better deal than Tishman could, for example, at the Spire site. What an AMAZING deal!

If Salesforce moved here, it would have similar designs for its NY and SF towers.

I can't see JPMC moving here though.

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/10/ny...uys-hotel.html

Metro Business; Vornado Buys Hotel

Published: August 10, 1999

Vornado Realty Trust, the largest office landlord in New York City, has bought the remaining 20 percent stake in the Hotel Pennsylvania for $42 million in cash and debt from Planet Hollywood International Inc.

The purchase values the hotel, which is across Seventh Avenue from Madison Square Garden and one of Manhattan's largest, at about $210 million. It cost $159 million in 1997 when Vornado, Planet Hollywood and a Singapore businessman bought it. Last year, Vornado bought the Singapore partner's 40 percent stake for $70 million.

Officials at Vornado, which is based in Saddle Brook, N.J., were not immediately available to comment.

Vornado has been buying properties around Madison Square Garden with plans to turn the district into an urban retail and entertainment locale similar to Times Square.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by JR Ewing

Vornado apparently bought this site for $159m, which might enable it to offer a tenant a much better deal than Tishman could, for example, at the Spire site. What an AMAZING deal!

Vornado has been buying properties around Madison Square Garden with plans to turn the district into an urban retail and entertainment locale similar to Times Square.

The area already kinda feels like a mini-times square. In terms of shopping, and the bright little signs everywhere. I would be for this, in terms of expanding the area to become an even further shopping/entertainment mecca, so long as its not tacky. Although it kinda is turning into this, even 14 plus years later with all of the budget hotels going up in the area.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by JR Ewing

Vornado apparently bought this site for $159m, which might enable it to offer a tenant a much better deal than Tishman could, for example, at the Spire site. What an AMAZING deal!

I don't know about that. Fifteen years ago is an eternity in Manhattan. Vornado does own a lot of property in the area, which puts them in a better position to develop as opposed to someone looking to purchase and build today. It's that long term strategy that is beginning to pay off.

I never understood the whole "we can't get a tenant" idea, especially considering this was the first of the major office towers in the area to actually land a signature tenant.

[NYguy]

http://www.thestreet.com/story/13050...ranscript.html

Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) Earnings Report: Q4 2014 Conference Call Transcript

BYTheStreet Transcripts
02/18/15

Brad Burke (Analyst - Goldman Sachs):

Just a couple quick ones for me. And sticking with Penn Plaza, I was hoping you could give us an update on how you're thinking about the development opportunity at the hotel Penn site, whether you're thinking about proceeding with that at anytime in the near future?

Steven Roth (Chairman & CEO):

The answer is, and I've said this over the years. The markets are ebbing and flowing over there. Our aspirations, if you would have talked to David and I and our team some years ago, for the Penn Plaza district business, we would renovate or raise whichever the Hotel Pennsylvania, and that would be enough. Our aspirations have now grown enormously so that the way we look at it, we have a one, two, three, four block square little sub neighborhood, or actually large sub neighborhood, and what we're about is to improve the whole district.

The Hotel Penn is important, but not the main event. The main event is to get the office buildings so that they command higher market trends than they do currently. And by the way, they are rising with the marketplace, quite smartly, currently. So we're not prepared to commit to what our plan for the Hotel Pennsylvania is. We are considering options which go from A to Z, including demolishing it to renovating it to turning it into -- to combining it with the Manhattan Mall behind. I know it's been a long time in the making, but we're really not able to comment today as to what our eventual development plan will be.

[sparkling]

Vornado Could Give New York’s Penn Station Area New Lease on Life

ELIOT BROWN
April 7, 2015

The area around New York’s Pennsylvania Station has long remained gritty and clogged with commuters as much of the rest of Manhattan has flourished.

Now Vornado Realty Trust is gearing up to change that.

One of the nation’s largest office landlords, Vornado is hoping to spark a revitalization of the area, where it is by far the dominant landowner, by investing hundreds of millions of dollars in new retail space, public plazas and other infrastructure, according to real-estate executives briefed on the plans.

The aim is to improve the desirability of the area’s office buildings, which are now deemed to be in a second-rate location and thus draw second-tier rent. If successful, it could mean dramatic growth in property value for Vornado. The company owns about nine million square feet in the neighborhood, including the 57-story 1 Penn Plaza, a portfolio with an estimated value of about $5.5 billion, according to Green Street Advisors.

“There is no reason that we cannot achieve very, very substantial rising rents in Penn Plaza—very substantial, enormous—with a little TLC,” Vornado Chief Executive Steven Roth said at a Citigroup Inc. investor conference last month, according to a transcript. “That’s going to be the principal focus of Vornado in the next short period of time, [the] next couple of years.”

These ambitions illustrate a new chapter for Vornado, which for the past three years has been slimming down by shedding extraneous businesses, including its huge portfolio of strip malls, to appease investor demands for simplicity. Now, with the company focused on offices and retail in New York and Washington, D.C., Mr. Roth appears to be shifting his attention again to growth.

The big question is whether the company will pull the trigger on the revamp of the Penn Station area.

Mr. Roth, 73 years old, has a reputation for indecision, taking his time on big moves and vacillating among different plans for years.

For a decade, he has been pledging to either rehabilitate the 1,700-room Hotel Pennsylvania across from Penn Station or to demolish it and replace it with an office tower. He still hasn’t announced a decision.

Before that, there was the former Alexander’s department store site on 59th Street and Lexington Ave., which sat vacant for years before he decided on a plan. Ultimately, this proved lucrative, as Vornado built the 55-story home of Bloomberg LP, topped by condominiums.

Still, analysts say Mr. Roth is energized as never before to overhaul the company before he retires—a move he has signaled is coming but isn’t imminent.

“They did have a reputation for being a very reluctant seller, very slow to make a decision,” said John Guinee, an analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. But as the company has simplified, Mr. Guinee says that has changed. “Vornado has displayed a sense of aggressiveness” lately, he said.

Mr. Roth appears to be highly focused on the Penn Station area, where he gradually built up his holdings throughout the 2000s. He recently hired Marc Ricks, a former economic-development official who worked in the administration of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in part to work on the Penn Plaza plan. And the company contacted numerous architects last year for ideas about how to remake the area, and has showed some renderings to potential tenants.

Planning is still in early stages and specifics have yet to be decided. But the more-prominent ideas Vornado has shared with others include tearing down the retail space, and adding new retail, on the block of 1 Penn Plaza, a block north of Penn Station that currently holds a Duane Reade pharmacy and a Kmart, the executives briefed on the plans said.

The company also is hoping to make other moves meant to alleviate the congestion from commuters and tourists who clog sidewalks around Penn Station, the city’s busiest train station. For instance, Vornado hopes to shut down half of the street just north of the station, 33rd Street, and it is pondering remaking some entrances to Penn Station.

These ideas, which likely would need city or state approvals, appear to come on top of investments Vornado long has been planning related to a proposed expansion of Penn Station into the Farley Post Office. Vornado and the Related Cos. in 2005 were designated the developers of part of the post office and a mixed-use tower known as Moynihan Station.

Various proposals have come and gone for the post office, with little progress, though Vornado and Related have kept their status as the designated developers. Now, the state continues to work on a plan. Work has begun on a first phase of the project, $300 million in largely infrastructure work necessary for future expansion.

[NYguy]

http://www.northjersey.com/news/busi...etta-1.1347407

Vornado plans overhaul of Penn Plaza led by Snohetta

JUNE 2, 2015

Vornado Realty Trust, the dominant property owner in the area surrounding Manhattan's Pennsylvania Station, hired the Snohetta architecture firm to design a master plan for an overhaul of its real estate in the district.

"It's the busiest transportation hub in North America, but it has very much been left behind," Mark Ricks, Vornado's senior vice president of development, said Monday evening at a meeting of a committee of Community Board 5, a group of neighborhood residents.

Snohetta, the Oslo-based firm that designed the public plaza in Times Square, has been asked to create a "framework" for the redesign of Vornado's buildings and street-level spaces in Penn Plaza, Ricks said. The landlord also is planning to close off a portion of West 33rd Street and limit nearby vehicular traffic in an experiment that may lead to a permanent pedestrian area near Madison Square Garden.

New York City officials have long wanted improvements in the area, which has suffered since the 1960s, when the old Beaux Arts Penn Station was torn down and replaced by Madison Square Garden and an office building, with the train station pushed underground. Fixing up the Penn Station and Madison Square Garden area is Vornado's "Big Kahuna," Chairman Steven Roth said in his annual letter to investors in April.

Roth has said he wants to capitalize on the development taking place to the west of the station, including the transformation of the James A. Farley post office building into a new regional transportation hub to be called Moynihan Station, and the Hudson Yards developments further to the west.

'Many Vornado buildings "are inextricably linked" to Penn Station, Ricks said. The real estate investment trust has more than 9 million square feet (836,000 square meters) of properties in Penn Plaza, including the 2 Penn Plaza office building above Penn Station and 1 Penn Plaza just to the north.

"As a public company with obligations to our shareholders, we want them to think about opportunities to upgrade our holdings for the benefit of our office tenants and shoppers, but we've also asked them to consider how to effectuate meaningful improvements to the station experience," Ricks said.

Once Snohetta's master plan is complete, different architects may be engaged to redesign individual buildings and public spaces, Ricks said.

"Snohetta and Vornado are working together to enliven the Penn District," Craig Dykers, a founder of the architecture firm, said in an e-mailed statement. "Our goals are to promote comfort and cultivate new identity to the district, dramatically improving the pedestrian, commuter and working environments surrounding what is the busiest transportation hub in America."

Vornado is poised to at least partially close off some streets that service what Ricks called "the collision of humanity," the hundreds of thousands of commuters who jam the streets near Penn Station. He described these closings as a temporary effort to collect data to be used to devise more permanent solutions.

Starting around July 19, and extending to Oct. 11, 33rd Street between Seventh Avenue and the Garden's loading dock will be completely closed, Ricks said. The street will be transformed into a pedestrian plaza, which could feature tables for dining, as well as musical performances, games and other forms of entertainment. Images he showed the committee included a yoga class and a juggler.

Thirty-Second Street would be limited to a single travel lane of vehicles, to open up more space for people to freely walk. The Vornado-owned Hotel Pennsylvania and Manhattan Mall make up the entire north side of that block.

Vornado has agreed to pay all costs associated with these efforts, Ricks said. He said the company plans to work "in close consultation" with the city and the 34th Street Partnership, which represents retailers in the area.

Ricks previously served as chief of staff to then-Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, who later became president of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.

Gloria Chin, a spokeswoman for the city department of transportation, didn't immediately respond to an e-mailed inquiry about the project.

[TechTalkGuy]

While some people are worried about their views of the iconic Empire State Building, nothing would compliment it more than 15 Penn Plaza.

This is not a tower that dares to rise taller than the Empire State Building, but rather compliment it.

Imagine standing on the observation deck and seeing a beautiful neighboring skyscraper less than 1,000 feet away!

What a view that would be.

As a skyscraper fan, I love skyscrapers.
It doesn't matter where it's built, as long as it's tall.
Personally, I'm rather sad that no developer dares to build supertalls between Midtown and Downtown.

• Video Link

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[Yackemflaber69]

I wouldn't say that it outshines the ESB, in fact i believe that they complement reach other nicely. Contrast between the old and the new.

[TechTalkGuy]

You got that right.
15 Penn Plaza compliments the Empire State Building in such a respectful way with an iconic design that just works.

It's not like the building is across the street from the ESB, it's 2 blocks away!

The good news is that 15 Penn Plaza got the green light to proceed.

[CityGuy87]

Originally Posted by TechTalkGuy

You got that right.
15 Penn Plaza compliments the Empire State Building in such a respectful way with an iconic design that just works.

It's not like the building is across the street from the ESB, it's 2 blocks away!

The good news is that 15 Penn Plaza got the green light to proceed.

It may have gotten the green light but the actual plans are still up in the air at this point.

Given the fact that all the Hudson Yards/Boulevard towers as well as Manhattan West will all pretty much obstruct views of the Empire State Building from NJ, that argument from the ESB's owner continues to be more and more invalid.

I do hope we get some solid info soon enough as it seems that Vornado has huge plans for the Penn Station area which will definitely provide a seamless transition from Midtown South to the Hudson Yards.

[chris08876]

I think Vornado is aiming to land a tenant. This is something like 2.5+ mil-sq ft, so it will require some effort to fill up. But yeah, with the assemblages around MSG, Vornado is definitely going strong in the business.

Whether or not the design remains or changes is not certain,and any news of a potential tenant or talks is at least a positive sign. But what is certain is that Hotel Penn in time due will be razed. The land it sits on is impeccable for any tenant who will anchor it. Being right next to Penn is a golden opportunity.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by CityGuy87

It may have gotten the green light but the actual plans are still up in the air at this point.

I do hope we get some solid info soon enough as it seems that Vornado has huge plans for the Penn Station area which will definitely provide a seamless transition from Midtown South to the Hudson Yards.

The plan is the same as always, they will not build without a signed tenant, as is usually the case with office buildings. The irony here being this was the first of the large west side towers to come close to signing a large tenant until the roof fell in on everything..

http://www.nysun.com/business/merril...midtown/60427/

More....


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/bu...ynch.html?_r=0

Merrill Lynch Expected to Quit Downtown for Midtown

By CHARLES V. BAGLI
October 25, 2007

Merrill Lynch & Company, the world’s largest brokerage firm, appears ready to move its longtime headquarters from Lower Manhattan to a new skyscraper in Midtown, across Seventh Avenue from Pennsylvania Station, according to government officials and real estate executives.

Both Larry A. Silverstein, the developer at ground zero, and Brookfield Properties, Merrill’s current landlord at the nearby World Financial Center, submitted sweetened last-minute offers last week that were as much as $1 billion cheaper than the Midtown option, according to government officials and real estate executives who have been briefed on the negotiations.

But the investment bank has “given every indication,” those officials and executives said, that it plans to build a $4 billion, 3 million-square-foot tower on Seventh Avenue, between 32nd and 33rd Streets, that would be home for 11,000 employees.

The potential relocation, which would not occur until 2013, comes as Merrill reported $7.9 billion in write-downs yesterday, leading to its first quarterly loss in six years. State officials hold out hope that the company’s difficult financial situation will prompt it to reconsider leaving Lower Manhattan.

_________________________________________________________________________



http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...3388CC0A85AC3C

...Merrill Lynch execs would prefer to be at Vornado Realty Trust's Hotel Pennsylvania site opposite Madison Square Garden, sources told The Post.

While Brookfield Properties and Battery Park City officials have been able to enlarge their proposed trading floor addition by eating into the lobby of 2 World Financial Center, it would still mean relocating all of the employees for three to four years, as the investment bank doesn't want to endure a disruptive floor-by-floor renovation job.

"What Larry [Silverstein] has decked up financially is not superior to [Vornado's] Hotel Pennsylvania, and it's not big enough," our source said.

Top execs are expected to meet with city officials within a week to chomp the numbers and the land-use review time frame on the 3 million square-footer proposed by Vornado.

[CityGuy87]

I'm well aware that they need an anchor tenant but what I meant about this project being up in the air is that Vornado hasn't officially decided if it wants to demolish the hotel and build the tower or simply renovate it and build elsewhere. So I've been under the impression that this development is more of will they or won't they as opposed to it's happening as long as there are tenants on board.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by CityGuy87

I'm well aware that they need an anchor tenant but what I meant about this project being up in the air is that Vornado hasn't officially decided if it wants to demolish the hotel and build the tower or simply renovate it and build elsewhere.

Yes, they have decided. If they can get a tenant, the hotel will be demolished regardless of the ongoing work there now or in the future.

[TechTalkGuy]

It appears that this site is having the same difficulties as 2 WTC in regards to attracting anchor tenants.

[CityGuy87]

Originally Posted by TechTalkGuy

It appears that this site is having the same difficulties as 2 WTC in regards to attracting anchor tenants.

Then where is this pent-up demand for brand new class-a office space in the city that we always hear about? If that was the case, this tower would've been anchored already, I mean it's pretty much a given now that 2 WTC has an anchor tenant so how hard could it possibly be to find one for this?

[mistermetAJ]

Originally Posted by TechTalkGuy

While some people are worried about their views of the iconic Empire State Building, nothing would compliment it more than 15 Penn Plaza.

This is not a tower that dares to rise taller than the Empire State Building, but rather compliment it.

Imagine standing on the observation deck and seeing a beautiful neighboring skyscraper less than 1,000 feet away!

What a view that would be.
[indent]As a skyscraper fan, I love skyscrapers.
It doesn't matter where it's built, as long as it's tall.
Personally, I'm rather sad that no developer dares to build supertalls between Midtown and Downtown.

[

I guess it's a matter of taste in deciding what "complements" the ESB and what is just a tall fat office building that will ruin a great vista and the dominance ESB once had over the area.

I find nothing especially unique or beautiful about this building. I guess it has a beer belly. That's kind of interesting...

[patriotizzy]

Originally Posted by mistermetAJ

I guess it's a matter of taste in deciding what "complements" the ESB and what is just a tall fat office building that will ruin a great vista and the dominance ESB once had over the area.

I find nothing especially unique or beautiful about this building. I guess it has a beer belly. That's kind of interesting...

Yeah, those are my thoughts exactly. Hopefully everything falls through and this is left in the dust. We got plenty of better proposals anyways. Vanderbuilt for example.