For the 3.5 years, the insurance brokerage firm has occupied floors 42 and 43 at Fountain Place, a 60-story, 1.2-million-sf trophy at 1445 Ross Ave. owned by Crescent FP Investors LP. Kirby White, the Fort Worth-based Crescent's leasing director, tells GlobeSt.com that the direct deal doesn't kick in until October 2005 when the 35,193-sf sublease expires with Chubb Insurance Co.

White says Summit's execs got a "modest" TI package, an expansion option and a flat rate for the five-year term after six months of negotiations. "It was a market deal...a good fit for them," he adds. "I think they recognized the value of the space, convenient access and identity of the building." Fountain Place, one of a handful of CBD trophies, has a quoted rent of $23 per sf to $26 per sf.

Despite its size, the 94%-leased Fountain Place has just 28 tenants, but four are corporate headquarters and two are regional HQs. Summit Global's hold on two floors and a promise of more high up in the high-rise wasn't about to be given up unless a competitor could make the move well worth it, an unlikely event with the CBD's trophy space continuing to maintain high occupancies. John Beach, a senior vice president with Jackson & Cooksey in Dallas, represented Summit Global, an eight-year-old insurance brokerage house with offices in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Tennessee as well as Texas.