W&H Properties' long planned program to realize the enormous potential of the retail space within its nine-office-tower portfolio has its root in earlier city-center retail investments led by Wien & Malkin leaders Peter and Anthony Malkin through their W&M Properties. Now, years later, W&H is reaching several important milestones. And the retail mix at the base of W&H's Trophy Pre-War buildings will never be the same.

Years of planning and consideration of the impact that branding can have on our assets have led to many accomplishments. Take for instance the just announced signing of Starbucks to occupy an unprecedented 8,400-square-foot, three-level store at the Empire State Building. The outlet will be the largest Starbucks in the New York area, and one of the Seattle-based company's largest stores in the world.

"This is a great start for our retail repositioning plans at the Empire State Building. It states loudly and clearly that the world's most famous office building wants to deliver top quality amenities to its tenants," says Andrew Goldberg of CBRE, the building's leasing agent.

"It also validates ownership's strategy of creating large blocks of space to target specific, stable and creditworthy retailers who wish to make a high-visibility impact on Manhattan's most vibrant, heavily trafficked neighborhoods."

Major progress also was achieved in other multi-level leasing initiatives. At 1350 Broadway, W&H is consolidating five retail stores and six office spaces to create a desirable three-level 25,000-square-foot block dominating the north end of Herald Square. Active leasing discussions are presently underway with two publicly traded retailers for this space, which will come available January 1, 2008.

"Interest in this space has been intense, and we are very conscious of choosing the best retailer for the image and benefit of the building, its tenants, and its ownership," says retail leasing specialist Jeff Roseman of Newmark Knight Frank. "This is the most coveted space in Herald Square, for the 300 linear feet of wrap-around signage it offers and for the fact that Macy's flagship store is directly across the street."

In a similarly advantageous position is 1333 Broadway, where W&H has just brought to market up to 68,400 square feet of retail space on three levels, which will be available for possession in late summer 2008. The building, immediately next to Macy's, will provide a retailer with a big-box facility that includes 500 feet of wrap-around frontage for dramatic visibility.

Retail Prominence

"The large retail spaces we've assembled at 1333 and 1350 Broadway, along with the enhanced store space at 112 West 34th Street, on the southwest corner of 34th and Broadway, give these properties a dominating position in Herald Square, one the nation's most vibrant retail intersections," says Anthony E. Malkin.

"And with the Empire State Building a block to the east, we have many of the choicest retail opportunities in the 34th Street/Herald Square submarkets to offer national and global retail giants," Mr. Malkin continues. "The strategy we are executing exploits this advantage to the fullest extent."

Of course, the W&H retail holdings in Manhattan extend well beyond 34th Street. Further north on Broadway, at 250 West 57th Street (which stretches from Broadway to Seventh Avenue, in the heart of the newly revitalized Columbus Circle district), plans are underway to create a multi-level 40,000-square-foot retail space with massive frontage on 57th Street, in proximity to the highly successful Time Warner Center.

"This is unquestionably the most exciting new store opportunity in the district, which already has emerged as a retail destination because of the successful retail component at Time Warner Center," says Joann Podell, retail leasing specialist for Cushman and Wakefield, the building's leasing agent.

"W&H anticipated that the redevelopment of Columbus Circle would create large-tenant opportunities that never before existed in this neighborhood, and that is exactly what's happening. Our timing is right on the mark."