A source said that Morgan Stanley, which is in the market for 800,000 square feet, has also kicked around the idea of a move to the World Trade Center site—as sure a sign as any that the center could once again become integral to the country's finance industry.

Well, not so fast, said another source, who noted that Larry Silverstein is in no hurry to sign tenants right now, preferring to wait until towers two, three and four are closer to completion and he can fetch rents possibly into the triple digits per square foot on the upper floors.

Meanwhile, it was earlier reported that Morgan Stanley was mulling a move to Goldman's dowager former headquarters at 85 Broad Street, but a source close to the matter said the bank is not negotiating there.

For now, our money is on a renewal at Brookfield's 1 New York Plaza. It might not have quite the views of its shimmering WTC counterpart, but there's always been something to be said for the familiar.

A call earlier to Morgan Stanley's broker, Newmark Knight Frank's Barry Gosin, was not returned.

No, New York.

Adding a much-needed gloss to the city's ho-hum roster of mega-tenants, L'Oreal, the world's largest cosmetics company, has just started looking for 500,000 square feet for its New York headquarters.

The company's current HQ is at the Emery Roth-designed 575 Fifth Avenue, but the lease expires in 2015. The 520,000-square-foot building at 47th Street, which was bought by Metlife in 2005, is also home to the Guess flagship store. L'Oreal also has office space at 565 Fifth Avenue and 435 Hudson Square.

The tenant is represented by a team led by CB Richard Ellis' William Hedman, who would say only that the search is very preliminary and the tenant could also choose to renew.

Most of the handful of tenants out there looking for that much space are finance types, and none of the sizeable blocks of space on the market right now would seem to suit such a glamorous tenant as L'Oreal (think 3 Columbus Circle's small floorplates or 11 Times Square's Eighth Avenue locale). But with its sights set as far off as 2015, there's always the first tower at Hudson Yards. If it's good not enough for Coach, maybe  it's good enough for Liliane Bettencourt.

Ready for a touch up. (Property Shark)

It's very rare indeed for us to uncover a tenant so prospective they haven't even started looking yet. But with a hot rumor that L&L Holdings plans to build a new office tower at 425 Park Avenue, Kaye Scholer may need to start hunting for a massive block of space any day now.

The sale of 425 Park to TIAA-CREF, the pension fund manager, hit public records last week, as noted by Real Estate Weekly. The seller of the fee was the Goelet family.

But note the more important detail, that David Levinson's L&L has a long-term net lease on the property, with a sublease to a partnership that expires in 2015. L&L  plans to hold an architectural competition to develop the site once they take control in 2015, and turn it into a brand-new, 600,000-square-foot building, according to a source. Given 425 Park's perfect location on the corner of 56th Street, currently wasted on the uninspiring Kahn & Jacobs-designed building, that seems like a wise bet.

Kaye Scholer, a law firm with more than 450 associates around the country, currently occupies 300,000 square feet in the building until 2015. They're represented by Craig Reicher and Tim Dempsey of CB Richard Ellis, who declined to comment, except to say the firm hasn't started looking yet.

As source close to the company said that plans have not been finalized. L&L declined to comment. What's certain is that when and if they do venture out, Kaye Scholer will be one of the largest new tenants to come on the market in a while.

By far the biggest news we've found is that Credit Suisse-First Boston might be mulling a move to Hudson Yards, according to multiple top industry sources. The rumor moreover appears to check out, as the bank's 1.8 million square feet of leases at 11 Madison and 315 Park Avenue South are likely to expire in 2017--perfect timing, if Related's first, smaller tower is finished around that time. 

But why would a swanky investment bank countenance moving to the wild, wild far West Side? Cassidy Turley research guru Robert Sammons, who had not heard the news, said it does make sense. "They're kind of an interesting tenant," he said. "They're a financial services firm that went to a different type of market in 2000. They're kind of perfect for that neighborhood [the far West Side]. It's not like they're a Park Avenue tenant looking to move to Hudson Yards." 

If this is, indeed, the case, then Credit Suisse might be the last to know. A spokesman insisted the rumor is untrue. 

Related needs to sign an anchor tenant relatively soon in order to move forward with the project, which is supposed to contain 4 million square feet of office space. The good news for Mr. Ross, Related's chairman, is that there is no shortage of interesting candidates. News Corporation, whose possible tenancy helped Related secure the project in the first place before dropping out, remains a possibility, according to one source. As does Time Warner, which has an estimated 5 million square feet of office space in New York and New Jersey, much of which expires in 2017. (They tapped Studley's Mitchell Steir to help them look.) Coach was also said to be weighing 600,000 square feet. 

Related declined to comment. CB Richard Ellis' Lewis Miller, who is representing Credit Suisse, declined to comment. 

lkusisto@observer.com 

Back in the fall, the sometime-troubled French money manager (a Madoff victim and Goldman adversary) wanted to renew at Mr. Solow's namesake Plaza District tower, where taking rents soar well into the three digits. But the infamously precious landlord played hardball and Natixis took its New York headquarters elsewhere, to 1251 Sixth.

The tenant signed a 180,000-square-foot deal at the base of the Rockefeller Center tower just a few months ago, where asking rents are a comparatively modest $70 a foot. One thing's for sure: Natixis' space at 1251 Sixth has been put back on the market, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. 

They're also back negotiating at 9 West 57th Street, but nothing has been finalized, said multiple sources. Natixis is one of the largest tenants in the beautiful SOM-designed tower, which is still roughly one-quarter empty, many say due to Mr. Solow's hardheaded insistence on pre-Lehman rents. What some once called stubbornness, perhaps we should start calling patience. 

Jones Lang Lasalle's Scott Panzer did not respond to requests for comment. Cushman & Wakefield's John Cefaly is representing the tenant, but he declined to comment. 

lkusisto@observer.com 

In almost any other scenario, we would assume that if five top brokers have all heard such news it must be true, but with so many eyes on the indecisive Japanese investment bank, the issue might not actually be settled yet.  

Nomura was said to have signed a letter of intent for 800,000 square feet at Worldwide Plaza, but negotiations were frozen due to the Japanese earthquake. That deal is back on, many people say.

But wait! Others insist that Nomura is still negotiating for a renewal at Brookfield Properties' World Financial Center, and after some digging The Commercial Observer uncovered this nugget from the REIT's first-quarter conference call, in which CEO Ric Clark sounds like the rollercoaster is not over yet: "I would just say that I guess around here we are excited about our chances one day and less excited the next," he said, "and so we've decided not to go through the highs and lows emotionally and just kind of sit back and let nature take its course. But as Dennis [Friedrich, CEO of commercial operations] has said to me, he expects a decision soon."

Cushman & Wakefield's John Cefaly, who we imagine has had enough reporters' phone calls for one lifetime, did not respond to our persistent requests for comment. Likewise, landlord George Comfort & Sons could not be reached for comment.

But after months of speculation, it could all come to that most dreaded of all possible ends: a compromise. Another person close to, but not involved with, the deal, said he believes that Nomura could split the difference between Worldwide and WFC. That would satisfy former employees of Lehman International, which Nomura acquired, who would prefer to stay in midtown, but Nomura could still keep its trading floors, which are expensive to rebuild, downtown.

"A lot of guys you talk to, including the brokers who are working on the deal will tell you it's an all-or-nothing solution," said the source. "But there's no telling what the guys in the home country will do when they read the political tea leaves."

lkusisto@observer.com 

Law firm Milbank Tweed Hadley McCloy LLP, which currently occupies high-floor space in fabulous Chase Manhattan Plaza, will likely not be able to stay. JPMorgan Chase, which owns the building, wants more space for itself in the brimming tower. Meanwhile, Milbank's lease expires in 2013, with a five-year renewal option, but now the landlord is reluctant to sign a new lease, according to sources.  

Chase was, in fact, trying to sell its downtown hub at One Chase Manhattan Plaza as of just six months ago, but seems to have changed its mind. The bank is now contemplating playing some real estate musical chairs, in order to move more of its operations into space it owns. 

Milbank is scouting for 350,000 square feet, but the pickings are quite slim, especially if they want to stay downtown. "There aren't 50 locations," said one source with a laugh. The law firm looked at 7 World Trade Center, but Wilmer Hale beat them to the punch and less than 300,000 square feet are now available. 

Former Goldman Sachs hub 85 Broad Street is one of the few spaces downtown that could accomodate the tenant, but the move from a fabulous all-glass SOM-designed tower to a building we once dubbed "desperately anonymous" is unlikely to thrill. A more appealing option would be One New York Plaza, a 1960s office tower where more than 500,000 square feet at the top is available, said Cassidy Turley's Robert Sammons. We suspect, though we could not confirm, that Douglas Durst and Larry Silverstein will be sending chocolates and flowers Milbank's way. Two towers at the World Trade Center site, controlled at least in part by the landlords, could be finished just in time for the law firm's 2013 moving date. 

Milbank has expanded its search to midtown, according to a source, where towers like 3 Columbus Circle and 11 Times Square, for example, could accomodate them. That's quite the leap from downtown to midtown rents, however. The law firm is still negotiating with Chase to stay, according to one source.

Other heavyweight tenants that have found themselves in an even bigger scramble for space are fellow law firm Chadbourne and Park, and Wells Fargo, which recently inked a deal at 150 East 42nd Street. 

Dale Schlather is leading the Milbank assignment for Cushman & Wakefield, along with firm chair John Cushman. Mr. Schlather declined to comment. 

lkusisto@observer.com 

The Whitney approved a $680 million expansion plan into the meatpacking district last spring, after years cramped in an overhanging Brutalist beast of a building on 75th Street. But there was a catch: Cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder apparently has a soft spot for concrete, and gave the art gallery $131 million only on the condition that it not sell its historic Marcel Breuer-designed home.

Rumors have abounded since last spring that the Met would rent the entire building. After more than a year of negotiations, the two parties are close to a deal, sources say.

Even though the Whitney's move is still a couple of years away, the two parties will need time to orchestrate the move, so there is some pressure to get the deal done early. Sources also said the building may become a museum-size exhibition space dedicated to post-1960s art or may house the Met's contemporary art collection. They note that a collection with a more contemporary edge would suit the building's Modernist design.

No brokers are currently involved in the transaction. Neither parties' press offices returned calls for comment.

lkusisto@observer.com

One can no longer enjoy a stroll through the Brooklyn Flea or a breezy brunch in the Village without being garotted by a pink patent purse or a delightful plaid diaper bag. But nothing will win the hearts of BroBettes and enrage the masses more than those delightful vintage cycles with, we suspect, a maximum speed of 5 miles an hour. 

With such successes--not to mention excellent revenues, according to parent company Liz Claiborne--it's no surprise that Ms. Spade is nearly doubling her office space. The designer, who is currently located in Flatiron's 48 West 25th Street, wants to expand from around 40,000 square feet to 75,000 square feet, according to sources. 

No stuffy midtown digs for this sprightly company (founded in 1996): Kate Spade is staying below 34th Street, a source said. That's a challenge, however, with tech, advertising and design companies all vying for a very few hip downtown spaces with large floorplates. Twitter, for instance, has been hunting in the area for months, and is now seriously considering some square digs at 340 Madison.

We've heard Ms. Spade has in mind several possible locations, but for now the details of the search are as closely guarded as the new fall line. Her brokers, David Falk and Jason Greenstein of Newmark Knight Frank, could not be reached for comment. 

lkusisto@observer.com 

The New Orleans-based makers of half-calorie pizza (with, of course, all the taste) recently leased spaces in midtown east, at 954 Third Avenue, and near Union Square, at 150 East 14th Street. Now the company plans to open two more locations this year, The Observer has learned.

The pizzamakers for the weight-conscious are close to signing a third lease in Tribeca for around 1,000 square feet, which could open in time for bikini season. Meanwhile, they've also been scouting spots in the recently Danny Meyer-annointed Upper East Side—one possibility on 84th Street, just a couple of blocks away from the Shake Shack at 86th Street near Third Avenue. "We're going to stay away from Second Avenue for now," said Mitchell Krupp, of parent company JKB Hospitality, in a delightful Southern drawl.

The restaurants are largely takeout spots, with an "Apple-esque" feel, Mr. Krupp said, where customers can check out iPads with more information about the chain while they wait. "It's really good pizza," said Mr. Krupp, with "half the calories, half the carbs," not to mention "proteins, probiotics and prebiotics." Sounds delicious.

Newmark Knight Frank's Jason Pruger is repping the company, which plans 40 locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and Westchester. But aren't they nervous about taking on the home of the original Big Slice? Replied Mr. Krupp, with just a dash of New York cynicism: "When I saw how much business a Domino's could do in New York..."

lkusisto@observer.com

At long last, Dick's Sporting Goods wants to fill Blackstone's cherished 36,000-square-foot empty, two-floor retail space at 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue, multiple sources said.

The prime spot in the 41-story Bryant Park tower at 1095 Sixth Avenue is technically in the Times Square district and thus in the path of at least a few errant tourists; it also boasts 16 feet of ground-floor frontage with wrap-around glass. But ever since Blackstone bought the building in 2007, and slapped on a minty fresh facade, the landlord has searched for the perfect retail tenant and has rebuffed pretenders.

"This is an unbelievable opportunity, and in fact a once-in-a-generation chance, to re-imagine and reposition a long stretch of 42nd Street and create an exciting, retail friendly link between Times Square and the dynamic Bryant Park neighborhood," said Cushman & Wakefield's C. Bradley Mendelson in a statement when he took over the leasing assignment in September 2010.

Another 44,000 square feet of above- and below-grade retail space in the building, fronting 42nd Street and unrelated to the likely Dick's move, still appears to be available, which the landlord is marketing to restaurant or entertainment tenants. Blackstone has also struggled with shrinking office tenants and falling rents.

Brokers say Dick's Sporting Goods, which was started in upstate New York by an avid fisherman in 1948, can afford to pay well for the space. "This is not like a t-shirt store," Prudential Douglas Elliman retail queen Faith Hope Consolo said. "This is the real deal."

The chain has over 300 stores and it's been looking for 15 years for a place to make its New York City debut, according to Ms. Consolo, who said the tenant has also looked on the East Side, in downtown and in Chelsea.

Ms. Consolo noted that sport stores, such as Modell's, have been growing--an unsurprising corollary to the post-millenium fitness fad and even the recession. "There are a lot of staycationers, a lot of people that wouldn't travel that are home in the summer," she said, many of whom are (or have been forced out of boredom to become) huge golfing and tennis enthusiasts. In fact, a trio of sports stores are said to have competed for the space, also including Texas-based Golfsmith and Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), which is opening in Soho.

The ball doesn't seem to be in the hole yet. Mr. Mendelson declined to comment. Dick's declined to comment; as did Robert K. Futterman's Ariel Schuster, who previously had the listing. Blackstone and SRS Real Estate's Patrick Smith, who has helped Dick's scout for New York space, didn't return our calls.

lkusisto@observer.com

Baker Hostetler, the world's 85th-largest law firm, which represented Bernie Madoff's victims in their search for lost treasure, now occupies 100,000 square feet at 45 Rockefeller Plaza. But with its leases expiring in 2012, Baker is trying to lock down the space, sources say.

The firm subleased the 9th, 10th and 11th floors from Ropes and Gray beginning in 2006. Last year, flush with billable hours courtesy of the fallout from the Ponzi schemer, Baker triumphantly added new partners and quietly added 20,000 square feet of Rock Center space. That short-term lease also expires in two years.

The Commercial Observer spoke briefly with CB Richard Ellis' John Maher, who is representing the tenant. Flummoxed, he said he would call us back and did not respond to further requests for comment. Tishman Speyer declined to comment through a spokesman.

Asking rents in Rockefeller Center can climb into the $80s, but as of January, the firm had received $128 million for its Madoff work, so that's unlikely to be a sticking point. Sources say the firm is likely to ink a deal soon.

But if previous Rockefeller Center experience is any indication, they'd better not play too hard to get.

lkusisto@observer.com

The reality, it turns out, is nearly as dramatic: While law firm Chadbourne & Parke was mulling whether to renew its lease there, Deloitte swooped in and leased the space from under them, according to sources with some knowledge of the deal. Now the law firm, which occupied roughly 300,000 square feet, is scrambling.

For the New York-based firm, which moved from Wall Street to 30 Rock in the '70s, the unexpected move hurts in more ways than one: Several sources said the firm will likely be unable to afford a 30 Rock-style top-tier space, where asking rents are around $70 a foot, especially with prices rising on Class A office space. Moreover, moving costs will likely be over $220 per foot, a major burden to bear in a weak economy.

The firm is interested in Boston Properties' new development at 740 Eighth Avenue, sources said, where Proskauer Rose was expected to take half a million feet. Chadbourne would likely anchor the West Side tower, taking the cheaper bottom floors. But the timing looks tight because the firm's 30 Rock lease expires in 2014, and construction on 740 Eighth can't get started until the building signs a major tenants (it could reportedly be completed in 30 months). That's nerve-wracking for a mid-sized law firm with an accounting giant nipping at its heels.

You can pretty much count the alternatives on one hand: There's 1221 Sixth Avenue, where jumbo tenants are reportedly lining up around the block to fill Societe Generale's space, but no sources could confirm if the firm is looking there. The tenant hasn't looked at 3 Columbus Circle. Could it be one of the recent showings at 4 Times Square?

No parties directly involved, including Chadbourne and its broker, Barry Gosin of Newmark Knight Frank, returned calls for comment.

lkusisto@observer.com

"We've got half a dozen places that are of real interest," chief executive Michael Smith told The Commercial Observer when we caught up with him, addressing rumors that the company was hunting for a larger office. "Everything that we've gotten excited about has been in either Soho or Noho, mostly." In addition to Silicon Alley, the techies are also eying a couple of spaces in the Village or Union Square.

Their current office is located above the Equinox at Broadway and 20th. "We have looked in Union Square because everybody is used to being there," Mr. Smith said. "But it wasn't our first choice."

The residential market has slowed to an agonizing crawl, but the appetite for the perfect apartment and juicy celebrity gossip continues unabated: StreetEasy was the most Googled term in New York City in 2010, according to a recent celebratory piece in Real Estate Weekly. 

Now, as the firm grows from eight employees to 14, and plans to expand again to 20, they're looking for between 6,000 and 9,000 square feet of fab loft space. The search began a few months ago and is led by Janet Liff of J. Liff & Co.

"We like old better than new," Mr. Smith said. "We're generally looking for open space. We've looked at very little Class A office space." The neighborhood is really important, too. "We want a real New York neighborhood," he said, adding, "We care a lot about eating." 

That sounds exactly like the swinging (but not-too-swinging) Union Square of the early 2000s. "Union Square is a great neighborhood, but it's a little overdone," Mr. Smith said. "It's gone from foodie to corporate foodie. It's great for companies who want to move from midtown to the new midtown. We were never interested in being in the old midtown, and we're certainly not interested in being in the new midtown."

The firm is, thus, headed "to downtown," Mr. Smith said, referencing the Soho area. (That should be music to some brokers' ears.)

Mr. Smith, a Web entrepreneur, not a real estate guy, has assembled a band of mostly outsiders to bring order to the chaos of residential real estate listings. Nonetheless, he proved himself perfectly capable of dishing about the commercial real estate market. "It's wonderful to have choices," he said. "We've definitely looked for office space when 'How far west do you want to go?' is the only question that they'll ask you."

While landlords still have a lot of power, tenants can hold their own in terms of rents and concessions. But isn't it supposed to be a landlords' market again? "That's bull," said Mr. Smith, adding, "There's been a lot of leasing activity and the commercial market responds really quickly to that, but let's not kid ourselves: There's a lot of property that's sitting on the market."

lkusisto@observer.com

Steve Jobs can't sneeze on a storefront without creating a fan frenzy, but a similarly high-end tech store has been scoping Manhattan space without eliciting so much as a tweet. Micro Center, a big-box-size retailer with aspirations to an Apple-like desirability, is scoping Manhattan space, including along top-tier Fifth Avenue, sources tell The Commercial Observer.

The store's customers have the same education level as a Saks consumer, according to Ed Luken, a spokesman for Micro Center, although he conceded the young, hip IT consultants "are not making nearly as much money."

Sources say Micro Center has checked out 420 Fifth Avenue, which housed a CompUSA until the store closed a couple of years ago. Broker George Constantin, of Heritage Realty Services, said he's shown the space to electronics companies but declined to specify which ones. Efforts to contact other major electronics retailers went unrewarded: Indianapolis-based hhgregg said it wasn't looking at the space, and Radio Shack declined to comment.

Mr. Luken said Micro Center doesn't comment on specific locations, but noted that it's been looking in the area. Mr. Luken also sees potential in the bankruptcy filing of Borders as the retailer may vacate some of its Manhattan stores.

Micro Center has 23 locations in major centers such as Washington, D.C., and Chicago, as well as a Yonkers location that opened in the summer. They generally range from 35,000 to 62,000 square feet, but in Manhattan the company is looking for something on the smaller end. The company seeks to position its stores, which features a "knowledge theater," a "knowledge bar" and an unusually wide selection of computer books, in areas where they will reach an affluent, highly educated customer.

That sounds an awful lot like Fifth Avenue.

True, Mr. Luken said, but added: "You can find that in Harlem today. You can find that in parts of the Bronx. We're definitely highly interested in all of New York."

lkusisto@observer.com