Vornado Realty Trust VNO, with Medline, recently announced an agreement to increase Medline’s presence at THE MART by 110,000 square feet. The long-term lease agreement with Vornado will run until 2036.

This expansion positions Medline as one of the largest tenants at Vornado’s 3.7-million-square-foot property in downtown Chicago. Medline is set to increase its office space in THE MART from 51,000 to 161,000 square feet, expanding to a single, contiguous area that will occupy the majority of the 12th floor.

Headquartered in Northfield, IL, Medline is the largest manufacturer of medical-surgical products in the healthcare sector, as well as a provider of supply chain services and clinical solutions partner. The company enhances clinical, financial and operational results across various care settings, including large healthcare systems, independent physician practices, to home health patients and their families.

About Vornado’s THE MART

Encompassing two entire city blocks, THE MART is the home for Chicago’s technological innovative companies. This 25-story building stands as the largest and most important center for design in North America, featuring more than 250 premier design showrooms that provide the latest resources for both residential and commercial markets.

In the second quarter of 2024, at THE MART, 32,000 square feet of space (all at share) was leased for an initial rent of $56.39 per square foot and a weighted average lease term of 7.2 years. The tenant improvements and leasing commissions were $7.86 per square foot per annum or 13.9% of the initial rent.

Per Glen Weiss, executive vice president and co-head of Real Estate at Vornado, “With its prime location and unrivaled amenity program, THE MART aligns perfectly with Medline’s needs and continues to be a major bright spot in the Chicago office market.”

Wrapping Up

Vornado’s focus on having assets in such a few select high-rent, high barrier-to-entry geographic markets and its diversified tenant base, including Medline, are expected to drive steady cash flows and fuel its growth over the long term.

Over the past three months, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 51.1%, outperforming the industry’s growth of 19.7%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader REIT sector are Crown Castle Inc. CCI and Four Corners Property Trust FCPT, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Crown Castle’s 2024 funds from operation (FFO) per share has moved marginally northward over the past two months to $6.97.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Four Corners’ current-year FFO per share has been raised marginally over the past month to $1.73.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represent funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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