Currently based in 60,000 sf at 345 Park Ave., Morgan & Finnegan is the first major law firm to relocate from Midtown to Downtown since Sept. 11, 2001, and one of a handful of firms that has returned after long-term occupancy in Midtown.
John F. Sweeney, partner at Morgan & Finnegan, tells GlobeSt.com the firm's lease was expiring this spring and they started a search process in the fall of 2002. They looked all over the city before deciding on relocating to the class A four-building complex whose towers offer large floor plates, modern state-of-the-art infrastructure, and technology, in addition to amenities such as the Winter Garden and European-style courtyard.
"We liked the big floor plates, the Hudson River view and the competitive rents. This is an important move for our firm, one that brings us back to our roots in Lower Manhattan, and one that offers us more space for future growth," he says. The firm will occupy the 20th and 21st floors of the 53-story property, providing sufficient expansion space to meet its immediate goals for continued growth. The lease also provides an option for future additional space, consistent with the firm's long-range growth objectives. A build out is in the works and the firms expects to move into the space in July or August.
CB Richard Ellis' John Maher, Kenneth Rapp and Paul Myers represented Morgan & Finnegan in the negotiations, while Dennis Friedrich and Jerry Larkin acted for ownership, Brookfield Properties. Attorneys Alan M. Berman and Nancy Goldstein of Le Boeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP represented Morgan & Finnegan in the negotiations, while Robert Sorin and David Kaufman of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson acted for Brookfield.
Maher points out that this deal is an example of the increasing momentum for Downtown leasing activity. "It opens up the eyes of other law firms who hadn't thought of the possibility. It's good for New York. The rent differential between Midtown and Downtown, coupled with the incentive package offered by the city and state, made the economics of this deal very compelling," he adds.
Brookfield owns one million sf in the lower half of 3 World Financial Center, having acquired its interest last year from Lehman Brothers. The upper half of the 2.1-million-sf office tower is owned by American Express. In a sign of possible things to come, a spokesperson for Brookfield says the firm anticipates there will be an additional 500,000 sf of leasing activity in the first quarter. The spokesperson adds that this deal is a sign that the incentive program is working and that Lower Manhattan is attracting high-quality tenants.
Morgan & Finnegan, which is bringing approximately 225 employees to the site, also operates from Washington DC. The firm was originally located near Wall Street since its inception in 1893, including 30 Broad St. and 80 Pine.
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