The term is for 15 years, according to Ken Zirk, senior vice president in the local office of Trammell Crow Co. He declined to disclose the aggregate value of the lease, but tells GlobeSt.com the asking rent rate in the 433,000-sf landmark property is $20 per sf, plus electric. This lease takes occupancy to 84%.

Zirk and TCC's Bill Luff, senior vice president, and Drew McGowan, vice president, represented the City in the search and lease negotiations. Josh Sloan of the local office of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the building owner, the New York City-based Leser Group.

"The DA office gained 20% more space than its current location and reduced its overall occupancy cost," Zirk says. "Given the nature of their work, private access to the space was important." The Widener location, a portion of which was previously occupied by jewelry retailer J.E. Caldwell Co., allowed for creation of a "building within a building," Zirk says. "While it gives the DA's office its own entrance and elevator, it also preserves the building's original lobby, a feature District Attorney Lynn Abraham was especially interested in keeping," he adds. Another benefit is the location at the intersection of Chestnut and S. Juniper streets, directly across from City Hall.