Fisk Building planning to cash in on Columbus Circle success.

The transformation of the Columbus Circle area into New York City's hottest media and entertainment center is forging ahead, in the face of a lackluster economy. And the Fisk Building is well positioned to take advantage of the migration of companies that will be attracted to the neighborhood as it solidifies this new identity.

The centerpiece of the area's new developments is Columbus Center, whose two 80-story towers are moving steadily towards a 2003 completion target. The massive multi-use complex under construction at Columbus Circle will house the new world headquarters for AOL/Time Warner.

In addition to the world's largest media conglomerate, the center will include luxury residential condominiums (with penthouses selling at $4,000 per SF), a Mandarin Oriental Hotel, a 1,000-seat concert hall for Jazz at Lincoln Center, and such upscale retailers as Cartier, Hugo Boss, Cole Haan, Eileen Fisher and famed chef/restaurateur Jean Georges Vongerichten.

Other nearby projects, notably the mixed use Park Imperial building, where Random House will set up shop and where best-selling author Deepak Chopra just bought an apartment, also are moving along at a rapid clip.

Long a haven for arts and entertainment organizations, the Fisk Building currently numbers among its tenants Merchant Ivory Productions, Al Roker Productions, the Lester Lanin Orchestras, the American Theater Wing (the sponsor of Broadway's Tony Awards), and talent and literary agents.

All of this development will attract companies wishing to be near the center of the action. Some of them, of course, will lease space in the properties under development. Existing properties, such as the Fisk Building, also will benefit and can accommodate companies that want to move to the area now.

And the Fisk Building is in the final stages of a $20 million improvement program encompassing a new cooling system, new elevator cabs, new windows, refurbished public corridors and a new enlarged lobby that will preserve the original marble walls and terrazzo floors while adding such classic elements as pilasters, ceiling coffers, pendant lighting and moldings.

For the first time in 15 years, the Fisk Building has large blocks of space available to lease, ranging in size from 7,400 to 12,000 SF. We also can meet the needs of companies requiring smaller spaces, including several prepared for immediate occupancy (PIO). Our PIO suites, which feature new carpeting, ceilings, lighting and fresh paint, generally range in size from 380 to 3,500 SF. With all of the development and upgrades taking place here, the Columbus Circle area is poised to prosper, despite the current economic slump. Pundits are predicting the recovery will take hold in the second quarter of 2003, as the area's transformation nears completion.