STAMFORD, CT–Jefferies & Co. Inc. has expanded its offices at W&M Properties' Metro Center complex here to more than 31,000 sf. The investment banking and institutional securities firm added 8,404 sf of space and has also extended its lease at the 280,000-sf property.

YONKERS, NY-After struggling for years with a poor image, the city of Yonkers has seen approximately $1 billion worth of development projects break ground here in the last few years. In the next five to seven years, Mayor Philip A. Amicone says another $3 billion in new investment could take shape.

HAWTHORNE, NY–In a few months, Bloomingdale's will be opening a new furniture and rug outlet store at the site for the former TOPS Appliance Warehouse store here. The retailer signed a lease for the entire 64,000-sf facility that has sat vacant the past several years.

WHITE PLAINS, NY-Argent Mortgage Co., which just four months ago signed a long-term lease for 223,366 sf of space at 44 South Broadway, signed a new lease for an additional floor, or 42,133 sf of space, at the high-rise property here.

ALBANY, NY–The state and International Paper Co. reached an agreement that will preserve more than 255,000 acres of mostly forestland in the Adirondacks region of the state, according to Gov. George Pataki.

STAMFORD, CT–In its first quarter 2004 office market report for Fairfield County, Cushman & Wakefield says the commercial real estate market continues to perform in a rather "choppy" fashion. Brokers are hopeful that expected job growth this year will key a recovery here.

MONTICELLO, NY-Empire Resorts Inc., the Fluor Corp., and a regional organized labor building trades organization have signed a project labor agreement for the Cayuga Catskill Resort, a $500-million proposed Native American casino that will be built at Monticello Raceway.

WALLKILL, NY-The on-again, off-again plan by Wal-Mart to build a 1.2-million-sf distribution center to service its Northeastern stores, is dead. The mega retailer says that "improvements in the overall efficiency of its supply chain" prompted the company to abandon construction plans.