CLEVELAND, Dec. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Forest City
Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FCEA) today announced the closing of the
conversion of its common ownership interest to preferred interest
in 10 specialty retail centers in the New
York City metropolitan area.
The closing covers 10 of the 13 centers that are part of a joint
venture between Forest City and Madison International Realty, LLC.
Closings on the conversion of Forest City's common interest in two
other centers in the portfolio – Shops at Northern Boulevard and
Queens Place – are expected by the end of the first quarter of 2018
as remaining lender matters are addressed. Final closings on each
of the individual centers are expected to occur as Forest City
secures replacement assets into which to redeploy its preferred
interest. The last center in the joint venture, the 42nd
Street retail/entertainment complex, is expected to transact at a
later date upon resolution of the ground lease dispute with the
City of New York.
"We are very pleased to achieve this key milestone in executing
our strategic plan and delivering on our commitment to create
value," said David J. LaRue, Forest
City president and chief executive officer. "As we identify
opportunities to redeploy our interest from this portfolio, we will
continue to focus on high-quality urban residential, office and
mixed-use assets in our major core markets.
"I want to thank our partner, Madison International Realty, and
our own internal team for the perseverance, creativity and
flexibility required to bring this complex transaction to this
important stage of completion," LaRue added.
As previously disclosed, the overall transaction values the 12
centers (excluding 42nd Street) at approximately
$450 million at Forest City's 51
percent share and reflects an approximate 5 percent cap rate on
2016 net operating income.
The 10 retail centers that are part today's announced closings
are Shops at Gun Hill Road (Waring), Shops at Gun Hill Road (Ely)
and Castle Center in the Bronx,
Harlem Center in Manhattan, The
Heights, Atlantic Terminal Mall and Atlantic Center in Brooklyn, Forest Avenue and Shops at Richmond
Avenue in Staten Island, and
Columbia Park Center in North Bergen, New
Jersey.
About Forest City
Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. is a NYSE-listed national real
estate company with $8.1 billion in
consolidated assets. The Company is principally engaged in the
ownership, development, management and acquisition of commercial
and residential real estate throughout the United States. For
more information, visit www.forestcity.net.
Safe Harbor Language
Statements made in this news release that state the company's or
management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or
predictions of the future are forward-looking statements. The
company's actual results could differ materially from those
expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements due to
various risks, uncertainties and other factors. Risks and factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the
uncertain outcome, impact, effects and results of the company's
Board of Directors' review of operating, strategic, financial and
structural alternatives, the company's ability to carry out future
transactions and strategic investments, as well as the acquisition
related costs, unanticipated difficulties realizing benefits
expected when entering into a transaction, the company's ability to
qualify or to remain qualified as a REIT, its ability to satisfy
REIT distribution requirements, the impact of issuing equity, debt
or both, and selling assets to satisfy its future distributions
required as a REIT or to fund capital expenditures, future growth
and expansion initiatives, the impact of the amount and timing of
any future distributions, the impact from complying with REIT
qualification requirements limiting its flexibility or causing it
to forego otherwise attractive opportunities beyond rental real
estate operations, the impact of complying with the REIT
requirements related to hedging, its lack of experience operating
as a REIT, legislative, administrative, regulatory or other actions
affecting REITs, including positions taken by the Internal Revenue
Service, the possibility that the company's Board of Directors will
unilaterally revoke its REIT election, the possibility that the
anticipated benefits of qualifying as a REIT will not be realized,
or will not be realized within the expected time period, the impact
of current lending and capital market conditions on its liquidity,
its ability to finance or refinance projects or repay its debt, the
impact of the slow economic recovery on the ownership, development
and management of its commercial real estate portfolio, general
real estate investment and development risks, litigation risks,
vacancies in its properties, risks associated with developing and
managing properties in partnership with others, competition, its
ability to renew leases or re-lease spaces as leases expire,
illiquidity of real estate investments, its ability to identify and
transact on chosen strategic alternatives for a portion of its
retail portfolio, bankruptcy or defaults of tenants, anchor store
consolidations or closings, the impact of terrorist acts and other
armed conflicts, its substantial debt leverage and the ability to
obtain and service debt, the impact of restrictions imposed by the
company's revolving credit facility, term loan and senior debt,
exposure to hedging agreements, the level and volatility of
interest rates, the continued availability of tax-exempt government
financing, its ability to receive payment on the notes receivable
issued by Onexim in connection with their purchase of our interests
in the Barclays Center and the Nets, the impact of credit rating
downgrades, effects of uninsured or underinsured losses, effects of
a downgrade or failure of its insurance carriers, environmental
liabilities, competing interests of its directors and executive
officers, the ability to recruit and retain key personnel, risks
associated with the sale of tax credits, downturns in the housing
market, the ability to maintain effective internal controls,
compliance with governmental regulations, increased legislative and
regulatory scrutiny of the financial services industry, changes in
federal, state or local tax laws and international trade
agreements, volatility in the market price of its publicly traded
securities, inflation risks, cybersecurity risks, cyber incidents,
shareholder activism efforts, conflicts of interest, risks related
to its organizational structure including operating through its
Operating Partnership and its UPREIT structure, as well as other
risks listed from time to time in the company's SEC filings,
including but not limited to, the company's annual and quarterly
reports.
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SOURCE Forest City Realty Trust, Inc.