The W&H portfolio includes 250 W. 57th St., the Lincoln Building at 60 E. 42nd St., the Empire State Building, 112 W. 34th St., 501 Seventh Ave., 1333 Broadway, 1350 Broadway, 1359 Broadway and 1400 Broadway. "Five of the properties–namely, the Empire State Building, 112 W. 34th St., 1333 Broadway, 1350 Broadway, and 1400 Broadway–only joined the portfolio in January of this year, but they're already seeing major leasing activity," notes Fred Posniak, SVP of Wien & Malkin Supervisory Services, the asset manager for the W&H brand.

"Clearly, brokers recognize that the same top-to-bottom transformations that took place at the four original portfolio properties, involving multi-million-dollar capital improvement programs and changes in management, are now taking place at the new portfolio additions," he continues. During the quarter, leases at the new additions were signed by a diverse range of tenants, including Tarter Krinsky & Drogin, a law firm at 1350 Broadway; Taylor, a public relations and branding firm at the Empire State Building; ShermansTravel Inc., a Gannett affiliate and a leading publisher of travel specials and destination advice at 112 W. 34th St.; Carr Business Systems Inc., an office technology supplier and Xerox Corp. subsidiary at 112 W. 34th St.; and Parigi, a major player in children's fashion apparel, at 112 W. 34th St.

"We built our reputation by delivering on promises to both tenants and brokers, so they have confidence when leasing space in W&H buildings, even in cases when capital improvements have just begun," adds Posniak. "We still have lots of great space available, including some large blocks and full floors with tower views, so we expect the strong leasing activity to continue in the third quarter."