More buildings log on to Plug'n' Go.

The Alliance for Downtown New York and New York City's Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has announced the overwhelming success and renewal of the Plug 'n' Go program for 1999.

Plug 'n' Go, which provides emerging high-tech companies with pre-built, pre-wired, reasonably-priced office space, is expected to lure hundreds of new high-tech companies to Downtown's Information Technology District for the new millennium.

"With the growth of the new media industry, the City is eager to continue to help entrepreneurs locate Internet-ready, affordable space," said Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. "The expansion of the Plug 'n' Go program will help more small companies grow in New York City, adding to the more than 2,600 new media businesses that already call Silicon Alley home. I am very pleased that this unique public-private partnership continues to foster the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan and the expansion of the City's new media community.

With the demand for Plug 'n' Go space remaining consistently high, four new Plug 'n' Go buildings - at 65 Broadway, 42 Broadway, 26 Broadway and 20 Exchange Place - will join two former Plug 'n' Go participants at 90 John Street and 111 John Street for the 1999 campaign.

Over 160 leases have been signed since 1997 for over 425,000 square feet; companies have brought in over 1,300 employees. First-year rents for 1999 Plug 'n' Go buildings will increase to $19 a square foot - an amount that still remains well below market and that reflects Downtown's greatly increased real estate activity.

"Plug 'n' Go is one of the best City-sponsored economic development programs in the nation," said Carl Weisbrod, president of the Alliance for Downtown New York. "By taking advantage of the area's natural resources - a fabulous fiber-optic infrastructure, inexpensive rents in great buildings, and a neighborhood which is the financial capital of the world - Plug 'n' Go has been a sparkplug for the rebirth of Downtown, and continues to be the engine that drives the area's economy."

Plug 'n' Go is a collaborative marketing effort between the Alliance, New York City's Economic Development Corporation (EDC), and participating Downtown building owners. Recognizing the potential for national interest in New York City's booming information technology industry, the Alliance and EDC developed a comprehensive, nationwide marketing campaign that included special advertising, mailings and presentations at industry trade shows. The campaign has generated over 1,500 leasing inquires from companies around the United States and abroad.

"New York City has seen a 105 percent increase in jobs in the new media field during the last year and a half," said EDC President Charles Millard. "By attracting more building owners to the program, we help more young, high-tech companies choose New York City as a location for business. With the ongoing support of Mayor Giuliani, the Alliance and the participating building owners, the Plug 'n' Go Program also continues to promote New York City's booming new media industry. It is a win-win for everyone involved."

The success of Plug 'n' Go has been widely recognized. It was cited in the Second New York New Media Industry Survey released by Coopers & Lybrand and the New York New Media Association as having helped "revitalize the Wall Street area." The study also described Plug 'n' Go as a model for encouraging local growth of the technology industry.

Due to the availability of affordable, Internet-ready space in the original heart of New York, a dynamic core of new media companies has been created which, together with the Information Technology Center at 55 Broad Street, form the backbone of "Silicon Alley."

Downtown New York is home to an expanding community of more that 600 Information Technology (IT) companies. Leaders in cutting-edge technologies are attracted to this area for many reasons, such as the extensive network of fiber optic cable which represent an investment of over $1 billion - that has been laid throughout the streets and buildings of the neighborhood, making Downtown the "fiber-optic capital of the world." As a result, Downtown offers IT companies much larger bandwidth - the ability of the telecommunications infrastructure to carry information quickly and efficiently - than is available elsewhere in the city and the region.