Commercial rents: Good and bad news.

At a time when everyone wonders whether today's hot market is destined to crash, Williams Real Estate's study of New York City's asking rents and space availability holds nothing but good news for commercial property owners. But, as always, there is a downside to the company's cheerful proclamation that rents will continue to rise as the city's economy as a whole may suffer.

According to the study, Manhattan's commercial rents are rising at an unprecedented speed, as the scarcity of available space gives the landlords the opportunity to double and triple their revenues and forces tenants to pay the asking price, whatever it is. And, according to the executives at Williams Real Estate, the location or the prestige of a given building has little to do with today's skyrocketing prices. "A comparison of rent distributions in Manhattan's three major submarkets confirms a trend toward higher prices across the board," they concluded.

Of course, most real estate professionals would be happy to see more of such news, but what will these trends mean in the long term? "After all, successful tenants are a necessity when you want your rent dues to be paid." According to Williams' researchers, smaller business owners will be compelled to do one of two things: Simply raise the amount of money allotted for rent payments, or raise the asking fees for their services. And most of them would be more likely to do the latter, driving the economy's inflation up -- not good news for the market's future.

There are several alternatives, however, and they present great opportunities for those who have properties outside the New York City market. As rents in Manhattan go up, many professional services firms will be propelled to go into outer boroughs and suburban areas, creating a hot commercial market in Queens, Brooklyn, the New Jersey waterfront, Long Island, Fairfield, and Westchester.

And, of course, there is still some hope in new construction, although the report warns that "while new construction will provide for a modest expansion of modem office product, it will do little to ease the burden for local service companies, who can not afford the asking rents in either the new buildings or the spaces being vacated by their future tenants." Still, the Times Square Area, the Madison Avenue corridor, and the Columbus Circle will bring some minor relief to the City's space scarcity.

Overall, the executives at Williams Real Estate are not overly enthusiastic about New York's booming market. "If rents stay at their current level for an extended period of time," the report concluded, "the inflationary effects of rising service fees could be substantial, especially when combined with rising energy and labor costs"

Midboro honored by ABO 

Midboro Management, Inc. was named an "Outstanding Management Company of 2000" by the Associated Builders & Owners of Greater New York, Inc. (ABO). Accepting the award June 29 was Midboro president Michael J. Wolfe.

The award signifies the company's achievements over the past year. In order to qualify, a nomination is submitted by an ABO member and then voted on by the association's board of directors, The awards presentation took place at a gala dinner dance at The National Arts Club in Gramercy Park, with an estimated 200 people attending.