Vornado Realty Trust plans to sell its 49.5 percent stake in Kushner Companies’ Midtown office tower at 666 Fifth Avenue, according to an annual performance report it filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Last year, Vornado CEO Steve Roth told shareholders that selling the REIT’s minority position in the tower was a possibility, but this appears to be the first time the company has plainly said that it will not keep 666 Fifth on its books long term.
“We do not intend to hold this asset on a long-term basis,” the company reported Monday. Vornado removed the building from its New York assets on its filings with the SEC. The property is now labeled “other.” Vornado previously removed the building from its leasing metrics.
Kushner Companies has eyed a grand renovation and redevelopment of 666 Fifth into a 1,400-foot tall luxury condo, hotel and retail center, but has struggled to find the necessary financing. Vornado was well known to not be keen on the idea, with Roth saying just last fall that it was “likely not feasible.”
A spokesperson for Kushner Companies declined to comment.