Daily News from New York, New York • 49

Retailors suf for 'jsSjs $lzmn UNIHJASE fallout from terrorist attacks fjfMSCTJOSOFT GM CITIGROUP: IBM $2.30 $2.98 $2.64 $4.30 $52.01 $43.23 $39 $94.80 $3.90 $35.20 $1.03 $6.39 Page 50 Jl 1 40 deals in 2 weeks By WILLIAM SHERMAN DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER More than five million square feet of new office space, the size of one of the World Trade Center towers, have been booked by commercial tenants displaced by the terrorist attacks. It's an unprecedented flurry of leasing deals finalized in less than two weeks. 'ft' i WM- "0 "Nobody's ever seen a pace like this, although this is not the way anybody likes a i i sJ-0 do business," said Bruce Mosler, presi-i dent of US operations for CushmanWake--i field. Hffi JUL "Wr -lanTiir-Tr r-- if fa I I The Starrett Lehigh building, which houses Martha Stewart Omnimedia, is part of rapid work to get businesses up and running again. hy if t)i Nearly forty deals have been signed or are near completion, according to Insig-niaESG and other top brokerage firms.

The deals include U.S. Customs which took 118,000 square feet at 2 Penn Plaza; Bank of New York, which took 229,000 square feet at 330 W. 34th Hartford Fire Insurance, which leased 145,000 square feet at 2 Park and Zurich-American Insurance Group which took 95,000 square feet in 601 W. 26th and the Starrett Lehigh building, which already houses such tenants as Martha Stewart Omnimedia. Those and other displaced WTC tenants managed to find new space in Manhattan where prices range from $40 to $80 a square foot depending on location, length of lease and improvements, according to Steven Swerdlow, president of the eastern division of CB Richard Ellis.

At the same time American Express and Lehman Brothers, among other companies with big space requirements, relocated to the suburbs where space is as low as $23 a square foot. Lehman Brothers rented 175,000 square feet at 70 Hudson St. in Jersey City, and American Express signed three deals totaling 681,000 square feet in New Jersey and Connecticut, according to Insignia. But Lehman Brothers, like others big brokers, whose operations are split to John Powers, vice chairman of Insignia. The collapse of the twin towers destroyed the entire World Trade Center complex comprising 13.4 million square feet.

At the same time, another 15 million square feet of space was damaged in the attack, including 3 World Financial Center, 130 Liberty and 140 West according to Powers. Nearly 1,300 downtown businesses were affected by the attack and 31 tenants occupying 100,000 square feet or more were displaced, he said. Still, 70 of the downtown market survived intact. among several locations, also is in talks about a deal for seven floors at 399 Park also Citigroup's Manhattan headquarters. Landlords are following no-price gouging guidelines set up by the Real Estate Board of New York, said the brokers, all involved in the negotiations.

"I've got five or six deals in some sort of negotiation or done, and I couldn't imagine it done any faster, people coming in, dropping out, that's the way it is," said Barry Gosin, chief executive of real estate firm Newmark. Nearly all the deals were done since the terrorist attacks, though a few were in the works before Sept. 11, according THOMAS MONASTER DAILY NEWS U.S. Customs will occupy 118,000 square feet of space at 2 Penn Plaza. Offices at new Times HQ still far off Mel -oiq price set by a court.

The process requires public hearings and environmental impact statements. "There really isn't much legally we can do to speed up the procedure," said Eric REAL Mangan, spokesman for the Empire State Development Corp. Mangan said that in a best-case MM new headquarters. The paper will occupy about half the 1.4 million-square-foot building, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano and the New York firm Fox Fowle. In the days since the World Trade Center attack, companies have scrambled to address immediate space needs, signing a flurry of leases for about 5 million square feet, according to In-signiaESG.

But long-term needs will come next, lending new urgency to planned construction projects like the Times building. The sudden demand could help Forest City land a tenant for the remaining 700,000 square feet of space in the proposed tower. pay the state about $85 million for the block between Seventh and Eighth avenues between 40th and 41st streets. If the companies have to pay more for the land, they will get tax breaks beyond the $29 million already committed. The block includes several adult video stores, as well as other kinds of businesses, such as Sussex House, a student apartment building on W.

41st St. All would be torn down. "We don't want to see this building," said Tom Alessandrel-lo, vice president of Sussex Educational Foundation. "We provide a service for New York City." Last year, The Times selected Forest City Ratner to develop its cause of the World Trade Center attack. "We believe that no greater contribution could be made than to be first to start construction on a major icon building after the tragedy," said Michael Golden, vice chairman of The New York Times Company.

Last week, the Real Estate Board of New York met with Sen. Charles Schumer to respond to the city's urgent need for office space. To address the need, officials hope to speed already slated projects like The Times building. But this project also demonstrates the obstacles to such acceleration. In a condemnation, the state often forces land owners to sell their property for a By ERIC HERMAN DAILY NEWS BUSINESS WRITER oP -The New York Times' new would add much-needed office space to the city's skyline, but it won't be ready any time soon.

Despite the desperate need for office space, The Times project wouldn't begin construction until a year from now at the earliest and two years at the outside. It will take about three years to build, according to the developer. At a public hearing yesterday, supporters and opponents of the proposed 52-story Times tower had their say. Several businesses expressed their support, and real estate executives pointed to the need for office space be scenario, the condemnation would be completed in 12 months. Two or three months would then be needed to find new homes for displaced businesses.

After that, the companies must begin construction within 12 months. The condemnation plan calls for Forest City and The Times to.