[NYguy]

https://therealdeal.com/new-york/202...penn-district/

Vornado planning apartment building in Penn District


By Kathryn Brenzel
May 2, 2024

….. on Tuesday, Roth again insisted that the real estate investment trust had not abandoned the project and revealed that he expects to begin with an apartment building.

“We’re gonna take a breath,” Roth said in response to an analyst question about Penn during the company’s first-quarter earnings call. “The prospect of doing ground-up development — we will likely start with an apartment project.”

… The company is in the process of demolishing the Hotel Penn at 401 Seventh Avenue, but still plans to build an office tower there, according to earnings filings.

… On Tuesday’s call, Roth said any assumption that Vornado is stopping work in the Penn District is “just plain silly.” Still, he would not specify what the REIT’s ultimate role will be in the state’s plans.

More quotes from Roth…

https://seekingalpha.com/article/459...all-transcript

We are full speed ahead on our current projects, total over 5 million square feet in the PENN District. Any comment in the newspapers or industry tabloids that we have stopped this incorrect and just plain silly. Just take a look at our three block long construction site when you next go through PENN Station or next go to a the playoff game.

….. A couple of other comments. We think we have seen the peak in work from home. More and more CEOs are now requiring their employees back to the office. With each passing week, the office buildings feels more like 2019. And we believe it's just a matter of time before everyone is back for good. New York City seems to be leading the country in this rega…

We have done a massive and very successful renovation of PENN1 where we have driven the rents from $55, $60 to the stunning side of $100 a foot and delivered value to our tenants and we are in the middle of a $1 billion renovation of PENN2.

We -- together with that, we are doing area-wide improvements infrastructure to the public realm and we're going to take a breath. The prospect of doing ground-up development, we will likely start with an apartment project. But we have not yet announced what we're doing, we're in the middle of planning that and we're actually very excited about it.