901 New York Ave. Signs 250,000-SF Anchor Tenant

WASHINGTON, DC-All systems are go for Boston Properties’ $150-million development at 901 New York Ave. with law firm Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner’s signing of a lease for 250,000 sf of the 538,000-sf class A building. Reports that Finnegan would come on board have been circulating for months but with the lease for a lead tenant finally in its possession, Boston will begin construction that was planned for mid-2001 in September of this year.

901 is currently a vacant lot that the Massachusetts real estate firm acquired for $42.6 million in October 2000. Before that, the plot had been owned by Monument Realty, which purchased the lot for $22 million in 1998. Boston’s plans for the property consist of a 10-story building that will offer 510,000 sf of premium office space and 27,000 sf of ground level retail space. There will also be a four-level underground parking structure. Finnegan Henderson will ultimately relocate from its current DC office at 1300 Eye Street. Its lease there is scheduled to expire in 2005 and its new digs are on track to be completed in September 2004. The Staubach Company represented the law firm in the transaction, while Cushman & Wakefield stood in for the building’s owners.