The building is the second phase of CNL's planned three-phase, one-million-sf, $200-million investment in Downtown. CNL plans a third 400,000-sf tower in the next three to five years.

The 12-story CNL Center II already is 65% pre-leased at asking average rents in the high $20-per-sf range. The building is tentatively scheduled for completion in late 2005, says CNL founder, chairman and CEO James M. Seneff Jr.

"Our business model is such that we've always had significant growth when the economy is weak or depressed," Seneff says. "We are a value-oriented investor and when the market weakens, the acquisition of real estate becomes that much more favorable."

He says, "Our newest office tower is more than brick and mortar. CNL Center II is a symbol of our company's considerable growth and continued investment in Downtown Orlando." Seneff founded CNL Financial Group in 1973 with a $5,000 loan from his father.

He bought his first tract on South Street next to City Hall. Seneff and his associates have grown the company from $5 billion in assets in 2001 to $16 billion--$13 billion owned through companies either established or acquired by CNL and $3 billion in assets it manages for third-party investors. The company had 2,900 properties on the nation's municipal tax rolls in 2001; it has 4,700 today.

The adjoining 14-story, 350,000-sf CNL Center I is 100% leased. That building was constructed in 1999 at a hard cost of $53 million or about $150 per sf. CNL Center II, to be built at an estimated hard construction cost of $190 per sf, has only 66,000 sf left to lease. CNL Financial Group and its affiliates will be taking about 145,000 sf. The 400-lawyer Akerman Senterfitt law firm will be occupying 80,000 sf on the top four floors.