NEW YORK CITY-Whether Midtown, Downtown, Uptown or the outer-boroughs, “relationship-driven” is how ABS Partners’ president and co-managing partner Gregg Schenker describes the company business. With more than six million square feet of managed property, the firm largely concentrates on the Midtown South submarket. In an interview with GlobeSt.com, Schenker describes why the Flatiron District, Union Square and SoHo are showing no signs of slowing down.

GlobeSt.com: What is leasing activity like at your buildings in the Flatiron District?

Schenker: Because the percentage of occupancy is so high when spaces come up for lease, we have more or less been able to hold the line on the terms we are seeking to achieve, and leasing has been very, very robust. In terms of the change in values that’s taken place over the last two or three years, work letters are less than they once were, rents are up significantly, the amount of downtime in-between tenant leases has decreased. We’ve been somewhat active on the retail front and we have a couple of very unique opportunities. We just moved a tenant from the ground floor of a space facing Union Square on 17^th Street and Park Avenue South. The retail space was occupied by Rothman’s is now vacant. Rothman’s just moved last week a block north to 18^th Street and Park Avenue South to another ABS property and freed up that very valuable corner. We are talking with a couple of tenants about creating a duplex store there where they can have a large ceiling lower-level combined with the corner store on the ground floor. We’ve seen significant activity on the space already. We have offers from a couple of tenants. There’s a bank that’s interested in the space. There were some food uses that inquired, but we don’t want a food use for that particular space because of the 300,000 square feet of office space upstairs. We feel a dry use would be better for the location. It’s cosmetics and a very high-end spa type use.