Investments in Partially Owned Entities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract]

Investments in Partially Owned Entities

Investments in Partially Owned Entities

Fifth Avenue and Times Square JV

On April 18, 2019 (the “Closing Date”), we entered into a transaction agreement (the “Transaction Agreement”) with a group of institutional investors (the “Investors”). The Transaction Agreement provides for a series of transactions (collectively, the “Transaction”) pursuant to which (i) prior to the Closing Date, we contributed our interests in properties located at 640 Fifth Avenue, 655 Fifth Avenue, 666 Fifth Avenue, 689 Fifth Avenue, 697-703 Fifth Avenue, 1535 Broadway and 1540 Broadway (collectively, the “Properties”) to subsidiaries of a newly formed joint venture (“Fifth Avenue and Times Square JV”) and (ii) on the Closing Date, transferred a 48.5% common interest in Fifth Avenue and Times Square JV to the Investors. The 48.5% common interest in the joint venture represents an effective 47.2% interest in the Properties (of which 45.4% was transferred from Vornado). The Properties include approximately 489,000 square feet of retail space, 327,000 square feet of office space, signage associated with 1535 and 1540 Broadway, the parking garage at 1540 Broadway and the theater at 1535 Broadway.

We retained the remaining 51.5% common interest in Fifth Avenue and Times Square JV which represents an effective 51.0% interest in the Properties and an aggregate $1.828 billion of preferred equity interests in certain of the properties. We also provided $500,000,000 of temporary preferred equity on 640 Fifth Avenue until May 23, 2019 when mortgage financing was completed. All of the preferred equity has an annual coupon of 4.25% for the first five years, increasing to 4.75% for the next five years and thereafter at a formulaic rate. It can be redeemed under certain conditions on a tax deferred basis.

Net cash proceeds from the Transaction were $1.179 billion, after (i) deductions for the defeasance of a $390,000,000 mortgage loan on 666 Fifth Avenue and the repayment of a $140,000,000 mortgage loan on 655 Fifth Avenue, (ii) proceeds from a $500,000,000 mortgage loan on 640 Fifth Avenue, described below, (iii) approximately $23,000,000 used to purchase noncontrolling investors' interests and (iv) approximately $53,000,000 of transaction costs (including $17,000,000 of costs related to the defeasance of the 666 Fifth Avenue mortgage loan).

We continue to manage and lease the Properties. We share control with the Investors over major decisions of the joint venture, including decisions regarding leasing, operating and capital budgets, and refinancings. Accordingly, we no longer hold a controlling financial interest in the Properties which has been transferred to the joint venture. As a result, our investment in Fifth Avenue and Times Square JV is accounted for under the equity method from the date of transfer. The Transaction valued the Properties at $5.556 billion resulting in a financial statement net gain of $2.571 billion, before noncontrolling interest of $11,945,000, including the related step up in our basis of the retained portion of the assets to fair value. The net gain is included in "net gain on transfer to Fifth Avenue and Times Square JV" on our consolidated statements of income for the year ended December 31, 2019. The gain for tax purposes was approximately $735,000,000.

6. Investments in Partially Owned Entities - continued

Fifth Avenue and Times Square JV - continued

On May 23, 2019, we received $500,000,000 from the redemption of our temporary preferred equity in 640 Fifth Avenue. The temporary preferred equity was redeemed from the proceeds of a $500,000,000 mortgage financing that was completed on the property. The five-year loan, which is guaranteed by us, is interest-only at LIBOR plus 1.01%. The interest rate was swapped for four years to a fixed rate of 3.07%.

Management, Development, Leasing and Other Agreements

We provide various services to Fifth Avenue and Times Square JV in accordance with management, development, leasing and other agreements, as described below.

We receive an annual fee for managing the Properties equal to 2% of the gross revenues from the Properties. In addition, we are entitled to a development fee of 5% of development costs, plus reimbursement of certain costs, for development projects performed by us. We are entitled to 1.5% of development costs, plus reimbursement of certain costs, as a supervisory fee for development projects not performed by us. We provide leasing services for fees calculated based on a percentage of rents, less any commissions paid to third-party real estate brokers, if applicable. We jointly provide leasing services for the retail space with Crown Acquisitions Inc. ("Crown"), and exclusively provide leasing services for the office space. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we recognized $3,085,000 of property management fee income which is included in "fee and other income" on our consolidated statements of income.

BMS, our wholly-owned subsidiary, supervises cleaning, security and engineering services at certain of the Properties. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we recognized $3,087,000 of income for these services which is included in "fee and other income" on our consolidated statements of income.

We believe, based on comparable fees charged by other real estate companies, that the fees described above are at fair market value.

Alexander’s, Inc

As of December 31, 2019, we own 1,654,068 Alexander’s common shares, or approximately 32.4% of Alexander’s common equity. We manage, develop and lease Alexander’s properties pursuant to agreements which expire in March of each year and are automatically renewable. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, Alexander’s owed us an aggregate of $1,426,000 and $708,000, respectively, pursuant to such agreements.

As of December 31, 2019 the market value (“fair value” pursuant to ASC 820) of our investment in Alexander’s, based on Alexander’s December 31, 2019 closing share price of $330.35, was $546,421,000, or $447,878,000 in excess of the carrying amount on our consolidated balance sheet. As of December 31, 2019, the carrying amount of our investment in Alexander’s, excluding amounts owed to us, exceeds our share of the equity in the net assets of Alexander’s by approximately $38,838,000. The majority of this basis difference resulted from the excess of our purchase price for the Alexander’s common stock acquired over the book value of Alexander’s net assets. Substantially all of this basis difference was allocated, based on our estimates of the fair values of Alexander’s assets and liabilities, to real estate (land and buildings). We are amortizing the basis difference related to the buildings into earnings as additional depreciation expense over their estimated useful lives. This depreciation is not material to our share of equity in Alexander’s net income. The basis difference related to the land will be recognized upon disposition of our investment.

Management, Development, Leasing and Other Agreements

We receive an annual fee for managing Alexander’s and all of its properties equal to the sum of (i) $2,800,000, (ii) 2% of the gross revenue from the Rego Park II Shopping Center, (iii) $0.50 per square foot of the tenant-occupied office and retail space at 731 Lexington Avenue, and (iv) $324,000, escalating at 3% per annum, for managing the common area of 731 Lexington Avenue. In addition, we are entitled to a development fee of 6% of development costs, as defined.

We provide Alexander’s with leasing services for a fee of 3% of rent for the first ten years of a lease term, 2% of rent for the eleventh through twentieth year of a lease term and 1% of rent for the twenty-first through thirtieth year of a lease term, subject to the payment of rents by Alexander’s tenants. In the event third-party real estate brokers are used, our fee increases by 1% and we are responsible for the fees to the third-parties. We are also entitled to a commission upon the sale of any of Alexander’s assets equal to 3% of gross proceeds, as defined, for asset sales less than $50,000,000, and 1% of gross proceeds, as defined, for asset sales of $50,000,000 or more.

BMS, our wholly-owned subsidiary, supervises (i) cleaning, engineering and security services at Alexander’s 731 Lexington Avenue property and (ii) security services at Alexander’s Rego Park I, Rego Park II properties and The Alexander apartment tower. During the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, we recognized $3,613,000, $2,705,000 and $2,678,000 of income, respectively, for these services.

6. Investments in Partially Owned Entities - continued

61 Ninth Avenue

On January 28, 2019, a joint venture in which we have a 45.1% interest, completed a $167,500,000 refinancing of 61 Ninth Avenue, a 166,000 square foot Manhattan office and retail property. The seven-year interest-only loan carries a rate of LIBOR plus 1.35% (3.07% as of December 31, 2019) and matures in January 2026. We realized net proceeds of approximately $31,000,000. The loan replaces the previous $90,000,000 construction loan that bore interest at LIBOR plus 3.05% and was scheduled to mature in December 2021.

Urban Edge Properties (“UE”) (NYSE: UE)

On March 4, 2019, we converted to common shares and sold all of our 5,717,184 partnership units of UE, realizing net proceeds of $108,512,000. The sale resulted in a net gain of $62,395,000 which is included in "net gains on disposition of wholly owned and partially owned assets" on our consolidated statements of income for the year ended December 31, 2019.

512 West 22nd Street

On June 28, 2019, a joint venture in which we have a 55% interest, completed a $145,700,000 refinancing of 512 West 22nd Street, a 173,000 square foot Manhattan office building, of which $109,565,000 was outstanding as of December 31, 2019. The four-year interest-only loan carries a rate of LIBOR plus 2.00% (3.72% as of December 31, 2019) and matures in June 2023 with a one-year extension option. The loan replaces the previous $126,000,000 construction loan that bore interest at LIBOR plus 2.65% and was scheduled to mature in November 2019.    

330 Madison Avenue

On July 11, 2019, we sold our 25% interest in 330 Madison Avenue to our joint venture partner. We received net proceeds of approximately $100,000,000 after deducting our share of the existing $500,000,000 mortgage loan resulting in a financial statement net gain of $159,292,000. The net gain is included in "net gains on disposition of wholly owned and partially owned assets" on our consolidated statements of income for the year ended December 31, 2019. The gain for tax purposes was approximately $139,000,000.

825 Seventh Avenue

On July 25, 2019, a joint venture in which we have a 50% interest, completed a $60,000,000 refinancing of 825 Seventh Avenue, a 165,000 square foot Manhattan office building, of which $31,889,000 was outstanding as of December 31, 2019. The interest-only loan carries a rate of LIBOR plus 1.65% (3.40% as of December 31, 2019) and matures in July 2022 with a one-year extension option. The loan replaces the previous $20,500,000 loan that bore interest at LIBOR plus 1.40% and was scheduled to mature in September 2019.

Toys "R" Us, Inc. ("Toys")

On September 18, 2017, Toys filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. In the second quarter of 2018, Toys ceased U.S. operations. On February 1, 2019, the plan of reorganization for Toys, in which we owned a 32.5% interest, was declared effective, and our stock in Toys was canceled. At December 31, 2018, we carried our Toys investment at zero. The canceling of our stock in Toys resulted in approximately a $420,000,000 capital loss deduction which was utilized in 2019 to partially offset taxable gains resulting from the transfer of our 45.4% common equity interest in Fifth Avenue and Times Square JV, the sale of our 25% interest in 330 Madison Avenue and sales of other assets.

650 Madison Avenue

On November 26, 2019, a joint venture in which we have a 20.1% interest, completed a $800,000,000 refinancing of 650 Madison Avenue, a 601,000 square foot Manhattan office and retail property. The ten-year interest-only loan carries a fixed rate of 3.49% and matures in December 2029. The loan replaces the previous $800,000,000 loan that bore interest at a fixed rate of 4.39% and was scheduled to mature in October 2020.

50-70 West 93rd Street

On December 23, 2019, a joint venture in which we have a 49.9% interest, completed a $85,500,000 refinancing, of which $82,500,000 was outstanding as of December 31, 2019, of 50-70 West 93rd Street, a 325-unit Manhattan residential complex. The five-year interest-only loan carries an interest rate of LIBOR plus 1.53%, which was swapped to a fixed rate of 3.14%, and matures in December 2024. The loan replaces the previous $80,000,000 loan that bore interest at LIBOR plus 1.70% and was scheduled to mature in August 2021, as extended.

6. Investments in Partially Owned Entities – continued

Below is a schedule summarizing our investments in partially owned entities.

(Amounts in thousands)	Percentage Ownership at December 31, 2019	As of December 31,
		2019			2018
Investments:
Fifth Avenue and Times Square JV (see pages 110 and 111 for details)	51.5%	$	3,291,231		$	—
Partially owned office buildings/land(1)	Various	464,109			499,005
Alexander’s	32.4%	98,543			107,983
PREIT(2)	N/A	—			59,491
UE(3)	N/A	—			45,344
Other investments(4)	Various	145,282			146,290
		$	3,999,165		$	858,113
Investments in partially owned entities included in other liabilities(5):
7 West 34th Street	53.0%	$	(54,004	)	$	(51,579	)
85 Tenth Avenue	49.9%	(6,186		)	—
330 Madison Avenue(6)	N/A	—			(58,117		)
		$	(60,190	)	$	(109,696	)

____________________

(1) Includes interests in 280 Park Avenue, 650 Madison Avenue, One Park Avenue, 512 West 22nd Street, 61 Ninth Avenue and others.

(2) On March 12, 2019, we converted all of our PREIT operating partnership units into common shares and began accounting for our investment as a marketable security in accordance with ASC 321 (see Note 5 - Marketable Securities).

(3) Sold on March 4, 2019 (see page 112 for details).

(4) Includes interests in Independence Plaza, Fashion Centre Mall/Washington Tower, Rosslyn Plaza, 50-70 West 93rd Street and others.

(5) Our negative basis results from distributions in excess of our investment.

(6) Sold on July 11, 2019 (see page 112 for details).

Below is a schedule of net income (loss) from partially owned entities.

(Amounts in thousands)	Percentage Ownership at December 31, 2019	For the Year Ended December 31,
		2019			2018			2017
Our share of net income (loss):
Fifth Avenue and Times Square JV (see pages 110 and 111 for details):
Equity in net income	51.5%	$	31,130		$	—		$	—
Return on preferred equity, net of our share of the expense		27,586			—			—
		58,716			—			—
Alexander's (see page 111 for details):
Equity in net income(1)	32.4%	19,204			10,485			25,820
Management, leasing and development fees		4,575			4,560			6,033
		23,779			15,045			31,853
Partially owned office buildings(2)	Various	(3,443		)	(3,085		)	2,109
Other investments(3)	Various	(187		)	(2,811		)	(18,762		)
		$	78,865		$	9,149		$	15,200

____________________

(1) 2018 includes our $7,708 share of Alexander's additional Transfer Tax related to the November 2012 sale of Kings Plaza Regional Shopping Center. Alexander's recorded this expense based on the precedent established by the Tax Tribunal's decision regarding One Park Avenue (see Note 4 - Real Estate Fund Investments).

(2) Includes interests in 280 Park Avenue, 650 Madison Avenue, One Park Avenue, 7 West 34th Street, 330 Madison Avenue (sold on July 11, 2019), 512 West 22nd Street, 61 Ninth Avenue, 85 Tenth Avenue and others. 2018 includes our $4,978 share of additional Transfer Tax related to the March 2011 acquisition of One Park Avenue (see Note 4 - Real Estate Fund Investments).

(3) Includes interests in Independence Plaza, Fashion Centre Mall/Washington Tower, Rosslyn Plaza, 50-70 West 93rd Street, 666 Fifth Avenue Office Condominium (sold on August 3, 2018), UE (sold on March 4, 2019), PREIT (accounted as a marketable security from March 12, 2019) and others. In 2018 and 2017, we recognized net losses of $4,873 and $25,414, respectively, from our 666 Fifth Avenue Office Condominium joint venture as a result of our share of depreciation expense. 2017 includes (i) a $44,465 non-cash impairment loss on our investment in PREIT (ii) $21,100 of net gains resulting from UE operating partnership unit issuances and (iii) $26,687 of net gains, comprised of $15,314 for our share of a net gain on the sale of Suffolk Downs and $11,373 for the net gain on repayment of our debt investments in Suffolk Downs JV.

6. Investments in Partially Owned Entities – continued

Below is a summary of the debt of our partially owned entities as of December 31, 2019 and 2018.

(Amounts in thousands)	Percentage Ownership at December 31, 2019	Maturity	Interest Rate at December 31, 2019	100% Partially Owned Entities’ Debt at December 31,(1)
				2019		2018
Partially owned office buildings(2):
Mortgages payable	Various	2021-2029	3.68%	$	3,604,104	$	3,985,855
Alexander's:
Mortgages payable	32.4%	2021-2025	2.98%	974,836		1,170,544
Fifth Avenue and Times Square JV:
Mortgages payable	51.5%	2022-2024	3.31%	950,000		—
Other(3):
Mortgages payable and other	Various	2021-2025	4.36%	1,290,227		4,564,489

________________________________________

(1) All amounts are non-recourse to us except (i) the $500,000 mortgage loan on 640 Fifth Avenue, included in the Fifth Avenue and Times Square JV, and (ii) the $300,000 mortgage loan on 7 West 34th Street which we guaranteed in connection with the sale of a 47.0% equity interest in May 2016.

(2) Includes 280 Park Avenue, 85 Tenth Avenue, One Park Avenue, 650 Madison Avenue, 7 West 34th Street, 61 Ninth Avenue, 512 West 22nd Street, 330 Madison Avenue (in 2018 only) and others.

(3) Includes Independence Plaza, Rosslyn Plaza, Fashion Centre Mall/Washington Tower, 50-70 West 93rd Street, UE (in 2018 only), PREIT (in 2018 only) and others.

Based on our ownership interest in the partially owned entities above, our pro rata share of the debt of these partially owned entities was $2,802,859,000 and $2,682,865,000 as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Summary of Condensed Combined Financial Information

The following is a summary of condensed combined financial information for all of our partially owned entities as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 and for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017.

(Amounts in thousands)	As of December 31,
	2019		2018
Balance Sheet:
Assets	$	13,384,000	$	13,258,000
Liabilities	7,548,000		10,456,000
Noncontrolling interests	2,054,000		139,000
Equity	3,782,000		2,663,000

(Amounts in thousands)	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Income Statement:
Total revenue	$	1,504,000	$	1,798,000	$	12,991,000
Net income (loss)	39,000		52,000		(542,000		)