According to insiders involved in the leasing, the first through third floors will be the home of a new anchor retailer and the fourth through the seventh floor will go to an office user. Julien J. Studley is the exclusive leasing agent for the office portion, but officials from the company declined to comment on the plans or the move to a retail mall and office mix. On the retailing side of the mall, over the past few months a third of the retailers have vacated the mall, leaving it in a tenuous position.

While neither Studley nor ownership would formally comment on the prospect of office space in the mall and it's impact, one industry expert, Alan Victor, executive vice president of Lansco Corp comments, "It won't affect the retailing done there in part because there are already offices on the seventh floor. The national tenants in the mall are doing very well and that market will attract several good retailers to come in and take any open space."

"The Manhattan Mall is actually undergoing a major renovation and re-merchandising," says Robert Futterman, president of RKF Associates who is the exclusive leasing agent for the retail space. "We have over 250,000 sf available now and several retailers interested.