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April 1, 2009
Forest City in the News
NY Observer, First Manhattan Costco in Forest City’s East River Plaza
On a Tuesday morning Forest City Enterprises investors call, president and CEO (and cousin of Bruce) Chuck Ratner revealed that Costco Wholesale will open its first Manhattan store in East River Plaza, the development firm’s 500,000-square-foot mall set to open later this year on the plot of land bounded by 116th and 119th streets and the F.D.R. Drive. Costco already has outlets in Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn.
The club store has assumed the 30-year (plus options) lease of Home Depot, according to Forest City spokesman Joe DePlasco.
NoLandGrab: Longtime readers may recall that Ratner double-crossed Costco back in September 2006, only to get burned by Home Depot last year.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Forest City Enterprises to manage, lease shopping center in Denver
Forest City Enterprises Inc. has signed a deal with investment management firm BlackRock Inc. to manage and lease a shopping center in southeast Denver.
The deal, reached Monday and announced during a Forest City conference call Tuesday, represents a new type of business for the real estate developer.
Crain's Cleveland Business, CEO says Forest City Enterprises assumes conservative posture
“Earnings don’t matter as much as liquidity,” Mr. Ratner said. “It’s all about survival, making sure you are around on the other side. This is the worst economy I’ve seen in the 44 years I’ve been with the company. Our focus is on completing projects under construction and making changes to become stronger. When conditions improve, Forest City will be a survivor and a leader.”
The comments are notable as they came the day after Forest City reported a loss of $45 million, or 44 cents a share, for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Jan. 31, compared to a profit of $12.6 million, or 12 cents a share, in the like period a year ago. It posted a net loss of $112.2 million, or $1.09 a share, for its fiscal year, compared with a profit of $52.4 million, or 51 cents a share, a year ago.
GlobeSt.com, Forest City Sees Per Share Decrease in Q4, 2008
“During the year, we addressed all of our approximately $842 million of 2008 loan maturities, with the exception of $13 million in loans still in negotiation with lenders,” Ratner says. “In addition, we have already made progress on addressing 2009 maturities.”
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Intelligencer
In a conference call with investment analysts today, Forest City Enterprises executives maintained optimism about the Atlantic Yards arena but also hedged with some of their language, saying, “we are prepared to move forward” rather than committing with more certainty, according to the Atlantic Yards Report .
Posted by lumi at April 1, 2009 3:36 AM