The "large law firm," reportedly Proskauer Rose, had been close to signing for around 500,000 square feet of the planned building. A release from Boston Properties says the law firm had agreed to financial terms on a lease transaction over the past year. However, the firm informed Boston Properties that it was "unable to proceed on those terms," according to the release. As a result, the REIT deemed the Midtown project "economically infeasible in today's environment."

Another law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, had agreed to take 250,000 square feet of space in the same building, according to published reports. A leasing agreement by both law firms would have secured around 70% occupancy for the building. A spokeswoman for Gibson Dunn had no comment; Proskauer Rose did not return GlobeSt.com's calls by deadline.

As if illustrating how quickly circumstances in the current market can change, Boston Properties was saying as recently as a Jan. 29 earnings conference call that it was still in negotiations with the law firm, rare good news in a call where they warned of a "challenging" year ahead. In its SEC filing that same day, the REIT revealed that it had suspended development on a proposed tower at 740 Eighth Ave.