Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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Steven Roth: Yes, it’s still very much on the table. We are not ready to talk about the timing which will not be set until we actually make a decision and announcing.

Dylan Burzinski: Okay, and then just going back to the ground moves reset, I think I’d mentioned that 26 million might be less today. We’re just curious, can you kind of give us an update on how that process works? I think our initial thought was when we saw the yields increase at the PENN district of the developments that we thought that the climate might reset higher. So just curious to see kind of an update on sort of the arbitration process and how that works.

Steven Roth: Well, the each ground lease is a little bit unique and a little bit different. This one basically involves brokers negotiating. If they can agree, then a third party is appointed as a neutral. The interpretation is that it’s a determination by brokers with 20 years of experience, active brokers of what the value of the land vacant and unimproved would be. So I interpret that to mean, what could you sell that piece of land for now, which is somewhat different than what an appraisal process might be, which is a willing buyer and a willing seller, etc. So we think it’s a brokerage process. So that’s the way it’s set. We think that the value of the land is lower today than it was a year and a half ago when we set the $26 billion.

Actually, maybe even quite a bit lower. And so that’s the determining factor. The fact that and most of these analysis are done by what is the return to a new building, and what the residual value would be for the land. So if we I think we can get $5 or $10 a foot more on a $90 or $100 lease in 1 PENN that has no bearing on what the value of the land might be.

Operator: The next question is from Anthony Paolone with JPMorgan. Please go ahead.

Anthony Paolone: Great. Thank you, Michael, you, you went through a whole number, the parts of the business in terms of the impact on FFO in ’23 vs ’22. But can you maybe help bottom line, just the core office and retail, NOI and whether that’s higher or lower this year?

Michael Franco: Tony, you’re trying to box me in the guidance here. We’re in a fluid environment. It’s hard to predict. Overall we think the performance will be comparable to this year I would say, and that’s not trying to give you a guidance, it’s just we have some ins and outs. We can’t predict exactly what will come along. It depends on which tenants we renew, which may roll out but in general, like we have some known pauses, we have some move out, as we just talked about. Overall as we sit here today, it’s probably neutral.

Anthony Paolone: Okay. Thanks for that. And then the second question is on 350 Park, I mean, you crystallized value there to a level that seems to be pretty well north of what I think most people probably had and their numbers and where you’re getting credit for it in the stock most likely. So just wondering how you thought about the ability to just completely exit I think next year versus staying and what could be another, I guess, seven plus years or so, like, how you think about that being worth it versus just saying you did well with the deal use that capital otherwise?

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