Goodbye For Now...

As of 9/1 I will be starting a very challenging new position, and between then and now we will be relocating from Seattle to Los Angeles. On the down side, I expect it will be many months before I will be able to make time for regular posting. On the plus side, I expect I will have a whole new set of topics to talk about when I resume posting.

Thanks to my regular readers - blogging is a lot more fun when you know someone is reading. I will be back when circumstances allow.

Now is a Great Time to be a Major Tenant: Part 2

A few weeks ago I posted about the opportunity for a major tenant to lease at 250 Montgomery Street. A major New York law firm did such a deal last week. From the Wall Street Journal article, Reduction in Rent for Law Firm Proves Patience Is a Virtue:

In 2007, when the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP began looking for a new location for its New York office, rents in a prestigious building that suited their tastes ranged from a pricey $120 to $140 a square foot.

What a difference two years and a massive global recession make.

Last week, in the largest Manhattan office lease so far this year, Orrick finalized a deal for 220,000 square feet in "Black Rock," headquarters of CBS Corp. at 51 W. 52nd St. The deal provided the law firm with a huge bargain over 2007 prices. Sources familiar with the deal said Orrick will pay monthly rent in the low- to mid-$70-a-square-foot range.

But it gets better. The landlord, CBS, agreed to spend $150 a square foot to renovate the space, leaving Orrick with little to no out-of-pocket costs to set up the new office.

That’s $33 million for tenant improvements the landlord is eating, and capping the rent reduction at 7% trims more that $133 million off the value of the building.