Forest City Realty Trust Explained
Forest City Realty Trust, Inc., formerly Forest City Enterprises, was a real estate investment trust that invested in office buildings, shopping centers and apartments in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and the greater metropolitan areas of New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The company was organized in Maryland with its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. As of December 31, 2017, the company owned 29 office buildings, 29 shopping centers, and 78 apartment complexes.[1] On December 7, 2018, the company was acquired by Brookfield Asset Management.
History
In 1920, Forest City was founded as a family-owned lumber and household hardware business by siblings Charles, Leonard, Max and Fannye Ratner, immigrants from Poland.[2] Beginning in the 1930s, the company invested in residential garages, apartments, retail strip centers. During World War II, the company manufactured and prefabricated governmental housing.[2]
In 1960, Forest City became a publicly-traded company.[2] In 1987, the company sold its retail lumber business to Handy Andy Home Improvement Center.[3]
In 2011, the company sold a 49% stake in a retail portfolio in New York for $172.3 million.[4] In 2013, the company acquired a 100% interest in a mall in Pittsburgh.[5] The company also sold a Sheraton hotel in Station Square in Pittsburgh for $61 million.[6] It also announced plans to redevelop Ballston Common Mall.[7] The company acquired a key parcel from Macy's for $13.4 million.[8]
In 2016, for tax purposes, the company converted into a real estate investment trust.[9] The company also sold its stake in the Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center to Mikhail Prokhorov,[10] sold its military housing division to Hunt Companies for $208.8 million,[11] sold Terminal Tower to K&D Group for $38.5 million,[12] and sold 7.7 acres and 8 buildings in Cleveland to an investor group for $3.5 million.[13]
In June, 2017 Forest City shareholders voted to eliminate the dual share structure that had enabled the founding Ratner family to control the company.[14] The City of New York also filed a lawsuit against the company in conjunction with the rent due pursuant to a ground lease.[15]
In August, 2017 the company sold 25 acres in Cleveland.[16] In October, 2017 the company sold its interests in 10 malls to Queensland Investment Corporation for $1.55 billion.[17]
On December 7, 2018, the company was acquired by Brookfield Asset Management.[18] [19]
Investments
Notable projects that were owned by the company are:
- 8 Spruce Street, also known as "New York by Gehry", for its designer, Frank Gehry.
- Pacific Park, Brooklyn, a mixed-use development in Brooklyn that includes the Barclays Center.
- Central Station, a primarily residential development on the site of a former railroad terminal in Chicago.
- Mercantile National Bank Building, a mixed-use urban redevelopment project of a historical office complex in Dallas.
- Mesa del Sol, planned for 100,000 inhabitants in Albuquerque, is the company's largest mixed-use development, co-owned by Covington Capital Partners.
- New York Times Building, a 52-story building in Midtown Manhattan designed by architect Renzo Piano.
- Northfield Stapleton is an open-air, 1200000square feet retail town center at the company's mixed-use redevelopment project at Stapleton International Airport in Denver.
- Public Health Service Hospital District in San Francisco's Presidio.
- Radian, a 26-story, curved residential tower in the Financial District of Boston.
- Showcase Mall, a shopping center on the Las Vegas Strip.
- Short Pump Town Center, an outdoor mall in Richmond, Virginia.
- Station Square, a 52acres indoor and outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment complex in Pittsburgh.
- University Park at MIT, a mixed-use urban redevelopment project on an abandoned industrial site near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- Victoria Gardens, a mixed-use shopping center development in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
- Westchester's Ridge Hill, an upscale, urban open-air shopping center in Yonkers, New York anchored by Lord & Taylor, until the store closed in 2020.
- Westfield San Francisco Centre, an upscale, urban shopping center in San Francisco co-owned and managed by The Westfield Group.
Notes and References
- Web site: Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. 2016 Form 10-K Annual Report . U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- News: From Lumberer to Developer, Forest City's Roots Run Deep. Christine. Perez. National Real Estate Investor. June 1, 2007.
- News: Handy Andy Purchase. Chicago Tribune. January 15, 1987.
- Forest City Announces Joint Ventures with Madison International Realty for 15 New York City Area Retail Centers. Forest City Enterprises. PR Newswire. March 29, 2011.
- Forest City Acquires Partner's Share of Pittsburgh Regional Mall; Sells Its Interest in Adjacent Specialty Center to Partner. Forest City Enterprises. PR Newswire. April 18, 2013.
- News: Sheraton Station Square Hotel sold for $61M. Paul J.. Gough. Washington Business Journal. July 19, 2013.
- News: Forest City details Ballston Common mall makeover. Daniel J.. Sernovitz. Washington Business Journal. September 17, 2013.
- News: Forest City completes deal with Macy's for Ballston Common mall redevelopment. Daniel J.. Sernovitz. Washington Business Journal. September 12, 2013.
- Forest City completes conversion to REIT status. Forest City Enterprises. PR Newswire. January 4, 2016.
- News: Forest City no longer owns stake in Brooklyn Nets, Barclays Center. Michelle. Jarboe. The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. February 1, 2016.
- Forest City closes sale of military housing business to Hunt Companies. Forest City Enterprises. PR Newswire. February 22, 2016.
- News: Terminal Tower sold to K&D Group in $38.5 million deal; apartments planned for 12 floors (photos). Michelle. Jarboe. Cleveland. The Plain Dealer. September 15, 2016.
- News: Forest City sells Flats properties to Cleveland-area investor group eyeing development (photos). Michelle. Jarboe. Cleveland. The Plain Dealer. December 21, 2016.
- News: Bullard. Stan. Forest City shareholders OK changing stock structure. Crain's Cleveland Business. June 12, 2017. subscription. April 2, 2022.
- News: City Files Suit Against Forest City For Times Square Ground Lease. registration . Matthew. Rothstein. Bisnow Philadelphia. June 1, 2017. April 2, 2022 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170915070259/https://www.bisnow.com/new-york/news/retail/forest-city-ratner-lawsuit-times-square-ground-lease-75100 . Sep 15, 2017 .
- News: Forest City sells 25 acres on Scranton Peninsula in Cleveland (photos). cleveland.com . Michelle. Jarboe. Cleveland. The Plain Dealer. August 4, 2017 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20181210073219/http://realestate.cleveland.com/realestate-news/2017/08/forest_city_sells_25_acres_on.html. Dec 10, 2018 .
- Forest City and QIC execute definitive agreements for regional mall portfolio. Forest City Enterprises. PR Newswire. October 2, 2017 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210508101634/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/forest-city-and-qic-execute-definitive-agreements-for-regional-mall-portfolio-300529029.html . May 8, 2021 .
- Brookfield Completes Acquisition of Forest City Realty Trust. Brookfield Asset Management. Globe Newswire. December 7, 2018 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210514183146/https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/12/07/1663936/0/en/Brookfield-Completes-Acquisition-of-Forest-City-Realty-Trust.html . May 14, 2021 .
- News: Brookfield cuts jobs, including top executives, at Forest City as acquisition looms. Cleveland. The Plain Dealer. December 6, 2018 . cleveland.com . Michelle . Jarboe . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231120012756/https://www.cleveland.com/business/2018/12/brookfield-cuts-jobs-including-top-executives-at-forest-city-as-acquisition-looms.html . Nov 20, 2023 .
