The 15-year lease, with options to extend beyond 2030, comes with a $10-million renovation of the firm's world headquarters at 1001 Fannin St. The law firm is an original tenant of the 21-year-old office building.

Brandi Gawliskowski of the Houston office of Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. tells GlobeSt.com that the lease has been 1 1/2 years in the making, including time spent checking out other CBD opportunities. About 400 of the firm's 800 attorneys office in the Houston headquarters.

"This lease renewal allows us to plan for our space needs for the next two decades," Sandy Weiner, Vinson & Elkins partner, said in a prepared statement. The firm occupies 16 floors of the 49-story First City Tower.

The renewal keeps occupancy at 96%. Chip Colvill of Houston-based Colvill Office Properties says the tower's premier location on the CBD's East Side helped keep the tenant in place, particularly with neighbors such as 5 Houston Center, Minute Maid Park, the Rockets' arena and George R. Brown Convention Center. First City Tower is bringing in per sf rates of $26 to $27.

Colvill tells GlobeSt.com that the $10-million renovation will begin in early 2006 under the auspices of the building's original designer, Morris Architects of Houston. Construction will take a year to 18 months to complete, with renovations planned for the lobby, plaza, tunnel and mechanical systems as well as the TI's for the law firm's offices.

Dan Searight, project manager for Morris Architects, says the renovation "complements the original modernist design while providing new elements that are inviting to the building's tenants and guests."

In addition to Gawliskowski, the Trammell Crow negotiating team consisted of John Holland and David Anderson, both in Houston, and Art Santry and Dale Martin, with the Washington, DC office. Weiner and Glenn Pinkerton, another Vinson & Elkins partner, also assisted in crafting the lease.

Colvill and Dave Johnson, senior property manager for Insignia/ESG, represented FC Tower Properties LP. The building is owned by affiliates of First City Liquidating Trust of Houston and JMB Realty Corp. of Chicago. The building owner's other deal makers included Jerry Thompson, representing the First City affiliate, and Tom Omundson sitting in for JMB. Also involved were attorneys Clark Thompson and Aaron Roffwarg, both of Bracewell & Patterson LP in Houston.