The Wells Fargo signing ended 1.5 years of shopping from the CBD to the suburbs. "In evaluating all the parts...economics, location and amenities...they just felt like the Crescent package met their needs better than the others," says John T. Amend, president of Dallas-based WorkPlaceUSA. He tells GlobeSt.com that the short list also included 1700 Pacific, Bryan Tower and Lincoln Plaza, all with one thing in common--empty retail bank spaces on their ground floors. Still, the offers were no match for Crescent's 1.2-million-sf trophy at 1445 Ross Ave. and a third-generation relationship that began in 1986 when the building opened and the lease belonged to Allied Bank, which became First Interstate and then Wells Fargo's Texas entry.

Amend says the 15-year lease calls for an immediate reconfiguration of 14,000 sf with more office layout changes down the road. Although it wasn't part of the Crescent deal, the bank also re-upped for the long term on a drive-through retail branch across the street from Fountain Place.

The renewal keeps the 60-story structure at 98% occupancy, says Kirby White, leasing manager for Fort Worth-based Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. "We were comfortable with the agreement we reached," he says of the deal in a building that commands $23 per sf to $26 per sf plus electric. "It's important for us and the downtown to retain our financial institutions."