Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Insurance

For our properties, we maintain general liability insurance with limits of $300,000,000 per occurrence and per property, of which $275,000,000, increased from $250,000,000 effective June 20, 2023, includes communicable disease coverage and we maintain all risk property and rental value insurance with limits of $2.0 billion per occurrence, with sub-limits for certain perils such as flood and earthquake, excluding communicable disease coverage. Our California properties have earthquake insurance with coverage of $350,000,000 per occurrence and in the aggregate, subject to a deductible in the amount of 5% of the value of the affected property. We maintain coverage for certified terrorism acts with limits of $6.0 billion per occurrence and in the aggregate (as listed below), $1.2 billion for non-certified acts of terrorism, and $5.0 billion per occurrence and in the aggregate for terrorism involving nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological (“NBCR”) terrorism events, as defined by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, as amended to date and which has been extended through December 2027.

Penn Plaza Insurance Company, LLC (“PPIC”), our wholly owned consolidated subsidiary, acts as a re-insurer with respect to a portion of all risk property and rental value insurance and a portion of our earthquake insurance coverage, and as a direct insurer for coverage for acts of terrorism including NBCR acts. Coverage for acts of terrorism (excluding NBCR acts) is fully reinsured by third-party insurance companies and the Federal government with no exposure to PPIC. For NBCR acts, PPIC is responsible for a deductible of $1,774,525 and 20% of the balance of a covered loss and the Federal government is responsible for the remaining portion of a covered loss. We are ultimately responsible for any loss incurred by PPIC.

Certain condominiums in which we own an interest (including the Farley Condominiums) maintain insurance policies with different per occurrence and aggregate limits than our policies described above.

We continue to monitor the state of the insurance market and the scope and costs of coverage for acts of terrorism and other events. However, we cannot anticipate what coverage will be available on commercially reasonable terms in the future. We are responsible for uninsured losses and for deductibles and losses in excess of our insurance coverage, which could be material.

Our debt instruments, consisting of mortgage loans secured by our properties, senior unsecured notes and revolving credit agreements contain customary covenants requiring us to maintain insurance. Although we believe that we have adequate insurance coverage for purposes of these agreements, we may not be able to obtain an equivalent amount of coverage at reasonable costs in the future. Further, if lenders insist on greater coverage than we are able to obtain it could adversely affect our ability to finance or refinance our properties and expand our portfolio.

Other Commitments and Contingencies

We are from time to time involved in legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business. In our opinion, after consultation with legal counsel, the outcome of such matters is not currently expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Each of our properties has been subjected to varying degrees of environmental assessment at various times. The environmental assessments did not reveal any material environmental contamination. However, there can be no assurance that the identification of new areas of contamination, changes in the extent or known scope of contamination, the discovery of additional sites, or changes in cleanup requirements would not result in significant costs to us.

In January 2022, we exercised the second of three 25-year renewal options on our PENN 1 ground lease. The first renewal option period commenced June 2023 and, together with the second option exercise, extends the lease term through June 2073. As a result of the exercise, we remeasured the related ground lease liability and recorded an estimated incremental right-of-use asset and lease liability of approximately $350,000,000, respectively, on our consolidated balance sheets. The ground lease is subject to fair market value resets at each 25-year renewal period. The rent reset effective June 2023 has yet to be determined and may be material.

In July 2018, we leased 78,000 square feet at 345 Montgomery Street in San Francisco, CA, to a subsidiary of Regus PLC, for an initial term of 15 years. The obligations under the lease were guaranteed by Regus PLC in an amount of up to $90,000,000. The tenant purported to terminate the lease prior to space delivery. We commenced a suit on October 23, 2019 seeking to enforce the lease and the guaranty. On May 11, 2021, the court issued a final statement of decision in our favor and on January 31, 2023, the Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court's decision. On October 9, 2020, the successor to Regus PLC filed for bankruptcy in Luxembourg. In April 2023, we entered into a settlement with affiliates of the successor to Regus PLC, pursuant to which we agreed to discontinue all legal proceedings against the Regus PLC successor and its affiliates in exchange for a payment to us of $21,350,000, which is included in “rental revenues” on our consolidated statements of income for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, of which $6,405,000 is attributable to noncontrolling interest.

19.    Commitments and Contingencies - continued

Other Commitments and Contingencies - continued

We may, from time to time, enter into guarantees including, but not limited to, payment guarantees to lenders of unconsolidated joint ventures for tax purposes, completion guarantees for development and redevelopment projects, and guarantees to fund leasing costs. These agreements terminate either upon the satisfaction of specified obligations or repayment of the underlying loans. As of September 30, 2023, the aggregate dollar amount of these guarantees is approximately $1,153,000,000, primarily comprised of payment guarantees for the mortgage loans secured by 640 Fifth Avenue, 7 West 34th Street and 435 Seventh Avenue. Other than these loans, our mortgage loans are non-recourse to us.

As of September 30, 2023, $30,233,000 of letters of credit were outstanding under one of our unsecured revolving credit facilities. Our unsecured revolving credit facilities contain financial covenants that require us to maintain minimum interest coverage and maximum debt to market capitalization ratios and provide for higher interest rates in the event of a decline in our ratings below Baa3/BBB- (our current ratings). Our unsecured revolving credit facilities also contain customary conditions precedent to borrowing, including representations and warranties, and also contain customary events of default that could give rise to accelerated repayment, including such items as failure to pay interest or principal.

Our 95% consolidated joint venture (5% is owned by Related Companies ("Related")) developed and owns the Farley Building. In connection with the development of the property, the joint venture admitted a historic tax credit investor partner. Under the terms of the historic tax credit arrangement, the joint venture is required to comply with various laws, regulations, and contractual provisions. Non-compliance with applicable requirements could result in projected tax benefits not being realized and, therefore, may require a refund or reduction of the Tax Credit Investor’s capital contributions. As of September 30, 2023, the Tax Credit Investor has made $92,400,000 in capital contributions. Vornado and Related have guaranteed certain of the joint venture’s obligations to the Tax Credit Investor.

As investment manager of the Fund, we are entitled to an incentive allocation after the limited partners have received a preferred return on their invested capital. The incentive allocation is subject to catch-up and clawback provisions. Accordingly, based on the September 30, 2023 fair value of the Fund assets, at liquidation we would be required to make a $26,700,000 payment to the limited partners, net of amounts owed to us, representing a clawback of previously paid incentive allocations, which would have no income statement impact as it was previously accrued.

As of September 30, 2023, we have construction commitments aggregating approximately $169,500,000.