Tower Realty works turnaround magic at 100 Wall St.

In a dramatic turnaround success story, Tower Realty Trust has achieved 100 percent occupancy at 100 Wall Street just five months after acquiring the property.

The 29-story, Class A office tower was purchased by Tower in October for $58.5 million and is already achieving actual, nonleveraged cash

"100 Wall Street is a spectacular illustration of the Tower Realty value-added strategy," said Larry Feldman, Tower's CEO. "We saw an opportunity to employ aggressive marketing and leasing techniques to increase the property's occupancy from 88 to 100 percent, and secure credit tenants at new market rents. The result, in just five months, is that revenues have climbed at higher than expected rental rates and the property is performing at peak performance."

Located in the heart of New York's Financial District, 100 Wall Street was constructed in 1969 and is home to an impressive roster of clients, including Waterhouse Securities and MCI. Tower's recent leasing campaign has added four new tenants, and the expansion of an existing tenant. The largest leasing deals include a 17,115 square-foot expansion and extension for existing tenant Cushman & Wakefield; a 10,341 square-foot lease for Duncanson & Holt, Inc.; a 4,753 square-foot lease for Trinitech System, Inc.; and a 2,550 squarefoot lease with Integrity Design Systems, Inc.

"We always knew that 100 Wall Street would be an excellent addition to our strong portfolio of office properties, and we are delighted to have achieved these outstanding results so quickly," Feldman said. "We are confident that we will create similar successes with our other recent acquisitions."

Feldman pointed to the turnaround opportunities he has identified at 810 Seventh Avenue and 90 Broad Street. At 810 Seventh Avenue, which currently produces returns of 8.75 percent in its unimproved stage, Tower Realty plans a comprehensive renovation and leasing campaign. The strategy is to bring rents at the 700,000 square-foot glass tower up to surging market levels, and to maximize returns by employing creating tactics such as the addition of much coveted signage in the Times square neighborhood.

A similar innovative turnaround strategy is planned for 90 Broad Street, a 335,000 square-foot, 25-story office building which Tower has under contract.

"We have been fulfilling our core strategy of buying office properties at significant discount to replacement cost and then enhancing their value through renovation, upgrades and innovative leasing programs," Feldman said. "The exciting news is that market conditions are supporting and speeding our turnaround successes. We are fortunate to have this excellent market in tandem with sound real estate and financials."

Tower Realty Trust, Inc. is a self-managed real estate investment trust engaged in the development, acquisition, ownership, renovation, management and leasing of office properties. Tower Realty Trust currently owns interests in 24 office buildings with an aggregate of approximately 4.2 million square feet in the Manhattan, Phoenix/Tucson and Orlando markets, with a majority of the company's rental stream derived from its Manhattan office properties.