Daily News from New York, New York • 30

FRIDAY'S CLOSE DOW JONES NASDAQ 500 390.23 37.80 33.80 0,019.26 1,319.15 847.76 MIL lime ttrasir Colioiibys Qrd mhWQ By ERIC HERMAN DAILY NEWS BUSINESS WRITER The future is coming to Columbus Circle. But for AOL Time Warner, the future is far from ROBERT ROSAMIUO DAILY NEWS million to $450 million. The building is set for completion in late 2003 or early 2004. "They can't back out," said Bruce Warwick, one of the project's developers. "They need the space, and they fully intend to go forward." In November 2000, a team of developers led by the Related Companies broke ground for an ambitious, twin-towered building that includes offices and studios for AOL Time Warner, 191 luxury condominiums, a hotel, shopping, and a facility for Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The residences sell for $1.6 million to $32.5 million. About 80 of the condos have sold. Buyers include singer Ricky Martin and producer Arnold Kopelson. Related bought the land for an estimated $345 million from the MTA after the agency's deal with Boston Properties fell through. (Boston Properties chairman Mortimer B.

Zucker-man also is chairman and co-publisher of the Daily News.) For financial backing, Related partnered with William Mack's As the steel frames rise on the 2.1 million-square-foot AOL Time Warner Center, some in the real estate industry believe troubles at AOL are already altering the company's plans. "Whatever space they were planning on using, they're going to be using a significant amount less," said a real estate source. Indeed, several real estate executives told the Daily News the company already has plans to sublease some of its space in the new building. AOL, for its part, says it intends to go forward with the plan to move into its new home. "We're committed to building our headquarters at AOL Time Warner Center," an AOL spokesman said.

"We have no plans to sublease any of our space." Alternatively, it could sell its interest. But one thing it can't do is bail out of the project. That could present a problem for AOL, which is obligated to buy 860,000 square feet of office and studio space when the building is complete. Estimates of the purchase price range from $350 I AOL Time Warner Center going up at Columbus Circle is expected to be com pleted by late '03 or early '04 but recent turmoil could alter media giant's plans for the site. But Related already is trying to lease 318,000 square feet of additional office space it owns as landlord, according to CoStar Group.

In a market already glutted with sublease space, that could pose a problem. "If AOL takes all their space and subleases it, then it's obviously a competition for them," said Barry Gosin, chief executive of Newmark Company, a real estate firm. Apollo Real Estate Advisors. Related's commitment from Time Warner secured before the merger with AOL helped it beat out other developers bidding for the land. Later, AOL contributed to a $400 million fund to pay for construction.

Related went to GMAC for a $1.3 billion construction loan, the largest ever, to pay for the rest. Having a top media company as a partner in the project seemed like a safe bet back in the '90s. But times have changed. Management turmoil and a plunging stock price have clouded the company's future. Even so, many brokers predict AOL will occupy the building.

Since AOL is purchasing its space as a condominium, Related is guaranteed to get its money, they say. Use discipline, patience to battle bears Dhad pushed my memories of 1974 into the deep recesses of my mind. Oakland won the World Series. "Mary Tyler Moore" and MASH" won Emmys. "The Way We Were" was the top song.

President Nixon resigned, and we were in the last bear market. doing well, are capitulating. On Friday, a number of money managers stopped by my office on their way home. Their briefcases, usually bulging with research, were empty. "What good will it do me?" one confessed.

"I'm forgetting the market," another said. And these are pros. This is a bear market. Investors are scared. Profession Now things have changed.

Investors have lost faith. "Everyone a crook. I'm getting als are scared. Everyone has lost faith with the mar- losses," so they sell anything that has a gain. Think about how you feel.

If a stock that's dropped from $50 to $5 suddenly jumps to $10, will you buy more or sell? If you said sell, you're in a bear market. My guess is that the bear market will be with us for several years. This doesn't mean you cant make money. I recommend investors stay liquid and diversified. Look for companies with high yields that will cushion declines.

Find stocks with clean balance sheets and high cash flows that will buy back stock. Find stocks that could be acquired if they get cheap. Stocks may have gotten cheap, but beating the market will require discipline and patience. Peter Siris.a New York fund manager, (guerrUlainvestinghotmail.com) is the author of "Guerrilla Investing." GUERRILLA 35 flf ket and with corpo- rate America. INVESTING out," an artist told me.

A client sent me three months of unopened statements from her broker. She didn't want to look. Anoth A broker used to call me each day as the market closed and say, "They cant hurt us anymore, until tomorrow." I had forgotten what those calls felt like. It was the most painful time in my investing life until now. I know the gurus say that bear markets start when an index declines by over 20, but this is wrong.

In 2000 and 2001, the Nasdaq was decimated and the got clocked. This should have made for a bear market. But it didn't. It was a correction in a bull market. This isn't semantic hairsplitting.

Despite the declines, investors remained convinced stocks would rally. investing 111 bear market is I different from investing in a uuu market. When stocks go up in a bull market, investors jump on. When they go up in a bear market, investors jump off. People say, "I need to recoup my er left me an exasperated voicemail.

"I am too stupid to invest." These people aren't alone. Even professionals, many of whom had been.