Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Sloan Bolen - Goldman Sachs.
Sloan Bolen - Goldman Sachs
First, a quick question on the development side at West 55th. You said you're basically going to finish the foundation. At what point - and it's probably a ways off - but what do you need to see in order to continue with that project? Would it be more in the way of pre-leasing? What would you expect in terms of rents or what would you look for in terms of returns?
Doug Linde
I'll answer the question in two ways. I think to be realistic about it we're going to need significant pre-leasing, but we're also going to need significant pre-leasing at a level on an incremental basis that makes sense because we're going to think about the incremental dollars going into the project at this point as opposed to what the total return on the asset is. And I think that, based upon our view of where current market rents are and where current large user demand is, it's going to be awhile before we start that building up again.
Mortimer Zuckerman
I'd like to add something to that, Doug, if I may.
Again, consistent with what I said before, there is no new space coming on the market and if, in a couple of years, for example, there is a real turnaround in the activities of the financial world in New York, then I think we will be able to produce new space in a period of time that is foreshortened by the extent to which we have unfortunately - what we've done so far and where we had to stop it, we're really in a position to move much more quickly than anybody else starting any other new project. So in that sense we'll be able to respond very quickly.
And we will have a real competitive advantage if somebody is looking for a large amount of space, a large tenant user, in a fairly short period of time because everybody is sitting back and waiting for the turnaround and when that turnaround comes and people really begin to feel the constraints of whatever their existing space may be, I think we'll be in a unique position on that side.
Sloan Bolen - Goldman Sachs
Switching to development that's a little bit in the nearer view, at Russia Wharf, just given the size of the loan - it's a little bit less than you'd expected - could you provide us an update on what your expectations for returns on that project might change? And then if there's any update on the unleased portion of the building and, lastly, what you're expecting to do with the multi-family or the condo portion of the project.
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