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With many of the major pieces in place for its long-awaited redevelopment, West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues is poised to regain its lost luster as the city's prime entertainment district.
The $300 million Tishman hotel complex, new and renovated theaters by the Walt Disney Co. and American Multi-Cinemas Inc., and Madame Tussaud's wax museum are all expected to boost property values as well as office and retail rents throughout the Times Square neighborhood.
But while what's happening in Times Square clearly isn't Mickey Mouse stuff, nearby property owners may have to wait for a few more years before they cash in on the area's looming respectability.
Despite predictions that retail rents in the area will rise by an average of 15% and office space in small buildings by 20%, success depends on whether the redevelopment really happens.
"I don't think there is any doubt that property values will increase," says Mary Ann Tighe, executive managing director at Edward S. Gordon Co., and a director of New 42nd Street Inc., a non-profit organization trying to renovate historic theaters on 42nd Street. "But whether they will skyrocket is another question. ere will be some cynics who continue to say, 'I'll wait and see if it happens first.' "
The Milstein Organization...