Charm of the suburbs attracting more companies.

Today, the Manhattan market has grown to include Stamford and White Plains. As New York City is experiencing resurgent rental rates and occupancy, corporate users in greater numbers are locating and co-locating in Stamford and White Plains--two highly viable 24/7 "sub-cities" of Manhattan. Tenants are finding quality and convenience, as well as some great values.

This trend comes as no surprise to us at W&M Properties, owner-operator of New York City quality Trophy multi-tenanted office buildings in Fairfield and Westchester Counties. Early on we recognized Stamford and White Plains as great cities that would emerge as strong and self-sufficient markets in their own right, as well as integrated, workable submarkets of Manhattan.

During the past year, 14 Manhattan-based companies have signed leases for new office space in our buildings. These new tenants include Bank of Ireland, CIT Group, DHR International, Barrow Street Capital, Newbury Partners, Inc., Entergy Nuclear Power Marketing, Mason Capital Management, Air Castle Advisor, Artha Capital Management, Inc., Morgan & Finnegan, Garnet Capital Advisors, Worldwide Marketing and Media Group, Media Options Inc., and Ziff Brothers Investment LLC. Most of these leases were not relocations, but expansions of City-based operations.

Much of the interest in Stamford as a commercial center stems from its transformation to a 24/7 community, driven by residential and retail developments. Over the past few years, Stamford has seen thousands of new "in-city" residential units built, as well as a rejuvenation of its downtown area with retail and the arts. Together, these developments have helped create a livable and workable urban downtown, which preserves the charm and convenience of Stamford's smaller town origin.

This revitalized downtown has prompted Royal Bank of Scotland to develop a new 500,000-square-foot building across from the Stamford Transportation Center--a clear indication that the firm believes in the strength of the city--and has also prompted such other prestigious international firms as Bank of Ireland and UBS to call Stamford home for their U.S. headquarters operations.

In turn, these firms have helped to cement the city's stature as an internationally recognized submarket of Manhattan. What's more, the rental rates in the Stamford's most desirable locations now hover near $60 per square foot (well below the $130-plus per square foot rental rates commanded for comparable product in midtown Manhattan).

All of these elements have led the city to attract many other high-profile, blue-chip companies. In fact, W&M has found that the current demand for space in its properties located at the Stamford Transportation Center--First Stamford Place, an 810,000-square-foot campus, and our flagship trophy Metro Center--more than justifies the predevelopment work now underway for a new high-performance Class-A office tower we will be developing on land adjacent to Metro Center and the Stamford Transportation Center.

Scheduled for occupancy in mid-2009, the new tower will be the first multi-tenanted, LEED-certified "green building" in Fairfield and Westchester Counties. The 17-story building will offer 350,000 square feet, with sub-dividable floorplate sizes of up to 30,000 square feet. The new signature building on the Stamford skyline will provide views of Long Island Sound, Stamford, and New York City, and will boast all the quality amenities and services for which Metro Center is known.

White Plains has witnessed the successful track on which Stamford has embarked, and is modeling itself in its image. Residential buildings, hotels, condos and stores are popping up throughout the city. For example, the White Plains City Center at Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street is helping to create a 24/7 neighborhood. It's a massive $300 million, 495,000-square-foot mixed-use property that houses such big name stores as Target, Circuit City and Starbucks, a 17-screen movie theater and a community theater. In addition; the center has two residential towers, with 600 units. Ten Bank Street, our property in White Plains, is just one block from the White Plains Inter-Modal Transportation Center, and a short walk to numerous retail amenities. A subsidiary of the national life insurance company UnumProvident recently opened an office there because the firm viewed the location as offering all the perks of a city without the pain of Manhattan or Greenwich rental rates.

White Plains--and Westchester in general--is becoming a powerful draw for firms that want to attract and retain employees. For example, the easy accessibility of our Harrison property, 500 Mamaroneck Avenue, located near major highways and complete with many amenities, has consistently been identified as a key component to a satisfied employee base. We anticipate further strengthening of rental rates and leasing velocity, and compression of leasing concessions, within these markets.

With rents commanding up to $40 per square foot in the most desirable White Plains locations, and up to $60 per square foot in the most desirable Stamford locations, Manhattan-based tenants have the opportunity to grow their businesses in the Westchester-Fairfield suburbs at considerably discounted rents, while also providing their employees the Manhattan-style perks, amenities and conveniences to which they have become accustomed.

In short, the final evolution of Stamford and White Plains into full-fledged suburban sub-cities, and the renewed interest by blue chip companies to locate operations there, isn't only a practical solution--it's also a positive one--good for landlords and good for tenants.

BY JEFF NEWMAN, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, W&M PROPERTIES