Forest City Realty Trust

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. 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.

In 1960, Forest City became a publicly traded company.

In 2011, the company sold a 49% stake in a retail portfolio in New York for $172.3 million. In 2013, the company acquired a 100% interest in The Mall at Robinson near Pittsburgh. The company also sold a Sheraton hotel in Station Square in Pittsburgh for $61 million. It also announced plans to redevelop Ballston Common Mall. The company acquired a key parcel from Macy's for $13.4 million.

In 2016, for tax purposes, the company converted into a real estate investment trust. The company also sold its stake in the Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center to Mikhail Prokhorov, sold its military housing division to Hunt Companies for $208.8 million, sold Terminal Tower to K&D Group for $38.5 million, and sold 7.7 acres and 8 buildings in Cleveland to an investor group for $3.5 million.

In June, 2017 Forest City shareholders voted to eliminate the dual share structure that had enabled the founding Ratner family to control the company. The City of New York also filed a lawsuit against the company in conjunction with the rent due pursuant to a ground lease.

In August, 2017 the company sold 25 acres in Cleveland. In October, 2017 the company sold its interests in 10 malls to Queensland Investment Corporation for $1.55 billion.

On December 7, 2018, the company was acquired by Brookfield Asset Management.

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, 1200000 sqft 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 52 acre 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.

References

References

1. "Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. 2016 Form 10-K Annual Report".
2. Perez, Christine. (June 1, 2007). "From Lumberer to Developer, Forest City's Roots Run Deep". [[National Real Estate Investor]].
3. (January 15, 1987). "Handy Andy Purchase". [[Chicago Tribune]].
4. (March 29, 2011). "Forest City Announces Joint Ventures with Madison International Realty for 15 New York City Area Retail Centers". Forest City Enterprises.
5. (April 18, 2013). "Forest City Acquires Partner's Share of Pittsburgh Regional Mall; Sells Its Interest in Adjacent Specialty Center to Partner". Forest City Enterprises.
6. Gough, Paul J.. (July 19, 2013). "Sheraton Station Square Hotel sold for $61M". [[American City Business Journals.
7. Sernovitz, Daniel J.. (September 17, 2013). "Forest City details Ballston Common mall makeover". Washington Business Journal.
8. Sernovitz, Daniel J.. (September 12, 2013). "Forest City completes deal with Macy's for Ballston Common mall redevelopment". Washington Business Journal.
9. (January 4, 2016). "Forest City completes conversion to REIT status". Forest City Enterprises.
10. Jarboe, Michelle. (February 1, 2016). "Forest City no longer owns stake in Brooklyn Nets, Barclays Center". [[The Plain Dealer]].
11. (February 22, 2016). "Forest City closes sale of military housing business to Hunt Companies". Forest City Enterprises.
12. Jarboe, Michelle. (September 15, 2016). "Terminal Tower sold to K&D Group in $38.5 million deal; apartments planned for 12 floors (photos)". The Plain Dealer.
13. Jarboe, Michelle. (December 21, 2016). "Forest City sells Flats properties to Cleveland-area investor group eyeing development (photos)". The Plain Dealer.
14. Bullard, Stan. (June 12, 2017). "Forest City shareholders OK changing stock structure". [[Crain Communications.
15. Rothstein, Matthew. (June 1, 2017). "City Files Suit Against Forest City For Times Square Ground Lease". [[Bisnow Media.
16. Jarboe, Michelle. (August 4, 2017). "Forest City sells 25 acres on Scranton Peninsula in Cleveland (photos)". cleveland.com.
17. (October 2, 2017). "Forest City and QIC execute definitive agreements for regional mall portfolio". Forest City Enterprises.
18. (December 7, 2018). "Brookfield Completes Acquisition of Forest City Realty Trust". Brookfield Asset Management.
19. (December 6, 2018). "Brookfield cuts jobs, including top executives, at Forest City as acquisition looms". cleveland.com.