Big names circle bowtie beauty.

The owners of tenantless One Times Square are getting serious about leasing out the base of the world's most famous sign tower.

Four years after Warner Bros. packed up their Bugs Bunny ears and Batman capes and left the 25-story tower totally empty, exclusive broker, Newmark Retail, is in the throes of a campaign to market the 19,000 s/f retail portion at the base of the building.

According to Newmark broker Jeffrey Roseman, the timing couldn't be better.

"Times Square used to be a tourist-based area, but now you have as much office space in Times Square as you do in other pockets of the city," commented Roseman, who is handling the assignment with Stephen Schofel, Marc Leber and David Falk.

"Six brand new office towers have been built over the last few years and Times Square is no longer just a one trick pony. There is now a whole market of office workers who were not there before, and we're not just talking about small companies, but the likes of Conde Nast, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley."

According to figures released by the Times Square Alliance, there are currently 158,000 office workers concentrated in Times Square, more than half of whom have an annual income over $75,000. That's on top of the burgeoning residential market which currently boasts 33,360 households, half of whom are dubbed "successful singles." Aware that there is an untapped retail income of an estimated $634 million, the Alliance has been active in helping transform Times Square's retail image to address the change in demographics.

Newmark itself has blazed a trail in that resurgence in no small way. The company just finished leasing at 1515 Broadway and took 60,000 s/f off the market in a deal with Commerce Bank for a flagship office at 42nd and Madison. Newmark also net leased the 230,000 s/f Candler Building at 220 West 42nd to SFX entertainment, subsequently purchase by Clear Channel.

Despite that success, Roseman is unabashedly excited about this latest assignment.

"I can't gush enough about it," he said. "Retailers look for people, traffic, late hours--you can go to Times Square at 2 a.m. and the streets are still packed, so [the property] is on the radar screen of major retailers and corporations. If they are going to do some sort of store, showroom or branding, there's no other place to do it."

Indeed, several big names, such as Pepsi, Microsoft and GM, are rumored to be circling their wagons around the famed high-rise with a view to joining the trend of creating a "branding showroom." Although Roseman declined to comment on specific tenants, he said, "We have been going after a wide variety of tenants. We see the space as a potential corporate showroom--some of the biggest names in the world, like Sony, Samsung and Hershey's are leasing huge retail spaces for advertising, branding and marketing."

With a $4.5 million asking price on the space, owners Jamestown and Sherwood Equities will undoubtedly welcome a new tenant, although they are by no means desperate.

Warner Bros entered into a lease that's not due to expire until next year and so continue to pay rent on the space.

And the tower's unparalleled signage makes it among the most lucrative empty buildings in the world.

Built in 1904, the former home of the New York Times and known around the world as the building where the ball drops every New Year's Eve, it is home to around 13 electronic sings and billboards which generate roughly $10 million a year for the owner.

The most prominent sign is the Panasonic NBC Astrovision video screen, which has a $1 million a year deal through 2006. Newmark's Stephen Schofel said the current price tag on the retail space factors in eight large signage opportunities for a potential tenant, including two signs that rise 180 ft up the side of the building.

"We have correctly identified where this building fits into the market place," he said. "Our ability to combine major availability with spectacular signage make for a terrific opportunity and everyone has figured out the 50 yard line."

Added Roseman, "Now that Times Square is truly at its peak in terms of business with retailers all reporting phenomenal sales numbers, clearly [the owners] would like to see a tenant occupy the building, it's too important not to be occupied."

With a total of 117,000 s/f of space available, it's not out of the question that Newmark could lease up more.

"Many years ago, it was multi-tenanted, mostly by small firms," said Schofel.

"We could expand that space upwards for a retail or major brand who wanted to take more than the 19,000 s/f, but it's the retail that's driving the boat."