Chau Leung and Todd Lippman, represented Seyfarth. After eight months of negotiations, contracts were signed on Sept. 15.
Move-in is set for early November.
According to Marr, Seyfarth had been
looking to move its offices from its current space on Connecticut Avenue into
a more modern building in the Central
Business District. However, the search took
on a new urgency early this year when
the Chicago-based firm added a team of
real estate attorneys to the practice, which pushed its requirement from more than
60,000 sf to 75,000 sf. “We “Being able to avoid a large capital expenditure
were primarily looking at B-plus or A-minus and secure better space
buildings in A loca- was very a tions,” says Marr. And although the property wasoutsideofthefirm’s target area, “It was a ”ttractive to the firm. PATRICK MARR CB RICHARD ELLIS
new class A building
with, more importantly,
a new class A build out. Being able to avoid
a large capital expenditure and secure better space for its attorneys was very attractive to the firm.”
Seyfarth’s lease covers 85% of the Dewey
space and extends through the end of
Dewey’s original contract, which is just over
13 years. Denver-based law firm Holland
& Hart took the remaining 13,500-sf floor.
Robert Copito of Jones Lang LaSalle spoke
for Dewey in negotiations, while the owner
of the class A building, Akridge Co., was
represented by an in-house team as well as
law firm Arnold & Porter.
“This was a complicated transaction
in that it was a sublease from Dewey,
but we were able to negotiate with the
landlord some of the benefits of a prime
lease, such as expansion, contraction and
survivor rights,” says Marr. Although the
EVP declined to discuss financial terms, he
did say, “Because this
was a sublease and
because most firms in
the market for space
this size are out looking 18 to 24 months in
advance, Seyfarth was
able to secure rental
rates that are about
10% below what new
class A buildings are
getting.” Comparable
properties are commanding rents of
about $48 to $55 per foot, net.
In light of current economic conditions,
Marr believes there will be more opportunities like this one, particularly in the next three
to 12 months. “With the legal industry seeing a small increase in revenue this year, we
expect more firms to seek merger partners.
As these mergers happen, we will see more
quality sublease alternatives come to market,” he says.—Cynthia J. Hoffman
Sales
Leasing: Did You Know?
Bloomingdale’s is coming to Santa Monica Place, a Santa Monica, CA mall currently being redeveloped by
Macerich into a 550,000-sf open-air center. The two-story, 105,000-sf store will open to shoppers in 2010.
Terms of the lease were not disclosed…Restoration Hardware Inc. has re-upped for 508,171 sf at 8416 Kelso
Dr. within Baltimore’s Marshfield Business Park. Arranging the deal were Lincoln Property Co. on behalf of
American Realty Advisors, owner of the 1.3-million-sf industrial development, and CB Richard Ellis for the ten-ant…Veralliance Properties has signed Eli Lilly and Co. to roughly 125,000 sf at its Campus Pointe project in
San Diego. The biopharma firm will move its West Coast operations into a two-building office/life science facility at
the 450,000-sf campus when renovations to the space are completed next March. Financial details of the 10-year
pact were not disclosed. Cushman & Wakefield acted for both parties…Under a five-year extension agreement,
Menlo Worldwide Logistics will keep its 256,700-sf facility at the Shawnee Ridge business park in Atlanta.
IDI Services Group represented ownership, while Colliers Spectrum Cauble spoke for Menlo Worldwide…A
September 2009 move-in date is planned for the California Highway Patrol’s new 285,016-sf headquarters
campus at Continental Plaza in Sacramento. The law enforcement agency will be consolidating several area locations into the three-building complex. Grubb & Ellis arranged the 20-year agreement for the property’s owner,
Grove Investment Co. Cornish & Carey spoke for the tenant. According to
GlobeSt.com, the state’s monthly
lease rate starts at $2.44 per sf…Pharmaceuticals giant
Merck will continue to occupy a 219,000-sf building on the
Unisys Campus in Blue Bell, PA. With Unisys’ lease at 785
Jolly Rd. set to mature next year, Merck signed a direct contract with landlord Corporate Office Properties Trust that will
commence next July…PPM America inked an extension and
expansion agreement totaling 75,114 sf at 225 W. Wacker in
Chicago. The investment advisory services firm will now occupy
three consecutive floors in the 31-story office tower. Brokering
the deal were MB Real Estate for the tenant and Jones Lang
Santa Monica Place LaSalle for the building’s owner, JP Morgan.
GLL REAL ESTATE PICKS UP
DOWNTOWN BOSTON TROPHY
Boston—Marking its entry into this city, GLL
Real Estate Partners GmbH has acquired
200 State St., a 302,143-sf office building.
The Munich-based company bought the
$167-million asset from Broadway Partners,
repped by Cushman & Wakefield’s Robert
Griffin, Marci Loeber and Edward Maher.
“We had been reading that Broadway
was going to be disposing of some of its
assets and were tracking what they had in
their portfolio,” explains GLL’s chief investment officer, Barry McGowan. “We knew
the team at Cushman & Wakefield, so
we got kind of an
early heads up
that the property
was coming to
market.”
Located in
the heart of the
Financial District,
the 16-story,
class A tower is
a trophy asset,
says the execu- 200 State St.
tive, and sits near
several modes of transportation, including
two subway stations, the ferry and the
underground interstate highway system.
The building is 99% leased to such tenants
as Beacon Capital Partners, Eaton Vance
Management Corp., Parthenon Group and
law firm Morgan, Brown & Joy.
“Everything around it is low rise, so you
have great views of the historic buildings
and fantastic views of the water,” says
McGowan.
In May 2007, New York City-based
Broadway purchased the property from
Beacon Capital Partners for an estimated
$158 million, according to Real Capital
Analytics. The sale, RCA says, was part
of a $5-billion deal for 25 office buildings
across the country. Within the past month,
the company has shed a number of the
assets, including the 492,000-sf 1000
Wilshire Blvd. for a rumored $142 million.
Given the current state of the credit markets, McGowan points out that
obtaining financing for 200 State St. was
tricky. “It was right down to the wire trying
to make sure that we had all of our banks
on board, but we did successfully close
with a loan in place.” A Bavarian State
Bank issued a $60.5-million note for the
asset.
Shortly after closing the transaction,
GLL snagged another Financial District
asset, 70 Franklin St., from Westport
Point Capital Partners. According to RCA,
