Office and retail go hand-in-hand at W&H properties. The same multi-million-dollar upgrade programs that have transformed our office offerings have transformed our retail offerings. And while we're attracting more and more high-profile office tenants to our buildings, so, too, are we attracting prestigious retailers.

The Empire Room, which will open soon on the ground floor at the Empire State Building, is a great example. It is the latest concept from Hospitality Holdings, which owns and operates The Campbell Apartment and six other famous high-end venues in Manhattan.

The 3,402-square-foot cocktail lounge will have an Art Deco-themed interior and will offer upscale cocktail selections and first-rate service.

Mr. Posniak also points out that the Empire Room lease fits into ownership's long-term plan to reposition the building's ground floor retail, with building amenities, including food and business services, on 33rd Street, and major international retailers on the 34th Street side.

"The retail leases signed after we launched the Empire State ReBuilding program are fully in line with this objective," he notes. "We now have the Empire Room on 33rd Street, and on 34th Street we have a new AT&T Mobility Store and one of the country's largest Starbucks on three levels."

At 501 Seventh Avenue, Chipotle will soon open a new 4,824-square foot location. "It's an ideal location, steps from Penn Station, Times Square and Herald Square," says Mr. Posniak. "Chipotle can cater to not only the tenants of 501 Seventh Avenue, but also to the pedestrians shopping in the neighborhood, and to commuters traveling to and from Penn Station and the Port Authority."

Another recent retail success took place at The Herald Square Building (1350 Broadway), where Duane Reade leased a 15,300-square-foot, multi-level space for a newly opened flagship store that showcases the pharmacy chain's attractive new prototype. That transaction closely follows Sovereign/Santander Bank's lease of 4,000 square feet at the same property.

"Through these two deals, all of the available retail space at the Herald Square Building was leased approximately within the span of a year — and at rents above leasing projections," says Mr. Posniak. "That's pretty remarkable in today's market," he adds.

Clearly, top-tier retailers have jumped at the opportunity to establish footprints in fully upgraded W&H Pre-War Trophy buildings, all of which are located in thriving 24/7 neighborhoods with high pedestrian traffic. Here are current retail lease opportunities:

Major Branding Opportunity at 3 Herald Square (1333 Broadway)

Next door to Macy's flagship location is 3 Herald Square, where a rare three-level, 62,000-square-foot space is now available, with reasonable divisions considered. The space includes an extraordinary 500 feet of wrap-around frontage on Broadway, 35th and 36th Streets, with exceptional visibility. In addition to Macy's and the extraordinarily successful pedestrian arcade that now covers Broadway between 35th and 36th Streets, neighbors include Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, Manhattan Mall and many national retailers. For more information, please call Andrew Goldberg of CB Richard Ellis at 212-984-8155 or andrew.goldberg@cbre.com.

Big-Box Availability at 250 West 57th Street

A 46,004-square-foot, multi-level retail space is available at 250 West 57th Street in the heart of the West 57th Street corridor, perfectly situated on the corner of 57th Street and Eighth Avenue across from the Hearst Corporation world headquarters. The space offers 18-foot ceiling heights, more than 240 feet of spectacular wrap-around frontage and visibility, and direct in-building access to the Columbus Circle/59th Street subway station, which is serviced by five subway lines. For more information, please contact Joanne Podell of Cushman & Wakefield at 212-841-5972 or joanne.podell@cushwake.com.

Grand Opportunity at One Grand Central Place (301 Madison Avenue)

There is a two-level retail space available adjacent to the elegant restaurant Pera, and to Madison & Vine and the Library Hotel. The ground floor contains 1,890 square feet and the second floor contains 800 square feet.

The space faces the headquarters of PriceWaterhouseCoopers and CIBC (with more than 5,500 employees) and is situated in a prime retail hotspot, with such neighbors as Sephora, H&M, Zara, Ann Taylor and Coach. For more information, please contact Amira Yunis at Newmark Knight Frank at 212-372-2397 or ayunis@newmarkkf.com.

Multi-Level Corner Availability at 501 Seventh Avenue

At the heart of the heavily trafficked Seventh Avenue corridor, steps from Penn Station and two blocks from Macy's flagship store, is 501 Seventh Avenue, where a multi-level space is available at the corner of Seventh Avenue and 37th Street.

The space includes 3,131 square feet on the ground floor, 1,837 square feet on the mezzanine level, and 3,429 square feet on the lower level.

More than 123,000 employees work within a few blocks of the location, and neighbors (besides Macy's) include Bank of America, Steven, Perfumania, Sprint, Cosi, Starbucks, TD Bank, GNC, FedEx, Kinko's and Madison Square Garden. And, as mentioned earlier, Chipotle soon will be a tenant of 501 Seventh Avenue.

Another benefit of the location is the extraordinary access to transportation — in the vicinity are 16 subway lines, Penn Station and the Port Authority bus terminal, and Grand Central Terminal is a short distance away. For more information, please contact Andrew Goldberg of CB Richard Ellis at 212-984-8155 or andrew.goldberg@cbre.com.

To learn about other retail availabilities at W&H properties, please visit www.whpropertiesny.com and click on "Space Availabilities."