The space in the 900,000-sf Sports Illustrated building at 135 W. 50th St. near Rockefeller Center won't be ready for occupancy until mid-second quarter of 2002 when a $12-million to $15-million renovation of the building is completed. Even so, many companies are expressing serious interest.

"If this space was available today, it would already have been rented," says Tom Bow, vice president of leasing at the Durst Organization, which controls the building under a long-term management agreement with the right to purchase. "This is definitely a unique opportunity and we've had a lot of activity. We hope to have a substantial amount of the space rented out by the end of the year, although no deals have been signed yet."

Bow says the Durst Organization is having conversations with financial services companies, insurance companies, computer companies and mid-size law firms. The asking price is $65 per sf with a work allowance of $30 per square foot and a free-rent period equal to construction time. The asking price has been the same since mid-summer, and Bow said Durst is sensitive about not taking advantage of changed market conditions caused by the destruction at the World Trade Center.