Law Firm Takes 100,000 SF at 3 WFC

NEW YORK CITY-Another large chunk of Downtown space is taken up as law firm Morgan & Finnegan LLP returns to its roots by signing a 20-year lease for two full floors–just more than 100,000 sf–at 3 World Financial Center. The firm will receive a $1.5-million grant from the federally-funded Job Creation and Retention Program. The program, developed to help Lower Manhattan recover from the events of Sept. 11, 2001 is administered by Empire State Development in cooperation with New York City Economic Development Corp. Other financial information was not revealed, however one party called the rent “competitive.”

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.