Bustling downtown White Plains market spurs rental activity in adjacent areas.

In the face of a generally flat economy, suburban submarkets in Westchester and Fairfield Counties contain bright spots that indicate growing demand for office space.

White Plains, with more than 2,000 new apartments in various stages of development, and national retailers flocking to major downtown projects, has rebounded dramatically from the doldrums it experienced through much of the 1990s.

This heightened activity in downtown White Plains has focused growing attention on the business advantages of leasing space in Class-A office facilities in well-located properties proximate to this recovering city center.

We are seeing evidence of this, for example, at W&M Properties' 500 Mamaroneck Avenue office complex in Harrison, just blocks from the White Plains border, as well as at its 711 Westchester Avenue office property in suburban White Plains. With a corporate tenant at 500 Mamaroneck scheduled to consolidate and relocate into one of its owned facilities upon expiration of its lease, over the next 12 months we will be phasing in the availability of a nearly 100,000-square-foot block of upper floor space.

Right now we have possession of 33,000 square feet of demised, multi-tenant space with upgraded common areas. We have a lease for almost half the floor and are seeing strong interest in this space coming from a wide variety of prospective tenants, including major Manhattan-based companies looking to open satellite suburban offices, and small and mid-sized Westchester companies.

Why the interest? There are businesses that want to grow in better located Class-A facilities offering the full panoply of amenities and services.

This is also consistent with our experience at 711 Westchester Avenue, in the 1287 "platinum mile" corridor, where we've signed seven recent deals for new tenants and expansions/renewals in quick succession. What makes these buildings so appealing is that they have raised the bar on suburban office quality and amenities, offering open space in beautifully landscaped settings, easy vehicular accessibility with ample parking, free bus or shuttle service from nearby transportation centers for employees commuting by rail, and a broad range of on-site amenities to improve the productivity and quality of experience for employees.

As White Plains continues to strengthen and the overall economy improves, we foresee escalating demand for high-quality multi-tenant office space in Westchester's eastern submarket.

Meanwhile, across the New York/Connecticut border, in Fairfield County's principal submarket of Stamford, office market conditions are starting to show encouraging signs.

Downtown Stamford is working through a contraction in the financial services industry that has produced lots of sublet space, as well as "shadow space" availabilities.

With the stock market possibly making a sustained recovery, hints of improvement are already perceptible, especially for Class-A, multi-tenanted properties most easily accessible to transportation. W&M Properties' presence in Stamford consists of its flagship Metro Center building and the adjacent three-building First Stamford Place office complex, just outside of downtown.

Both Class-A properties enjoy the considerable advantage of proximity to the Stamford Transportation Center, with its Metro North and Amtrak service, and an exit just off I95, the Connecticut Turnpike.

In addition, Metro Center and First Stamford Place are the only Class-A properties located at the transportation center and yet also situated within Stamford's Enterprise Zone, a factor that enables qualified tenants to enjoy tax benefits Westchester's equating to savings of at least $3.00 per square foot for the first five years of a new lease.

In terms of its office market, Stamford is unquestionably one of the most vital suburban centers in the U.S., serving as a satellite of Manhattan's global financial industries. It is a vital submarket whose future prosperity is assured.