MINNEAPOLIS-After a months of circling with other large office block seekers, Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly has become the first tenant to land downtown. The law firm has taken signed a 12-year lease at the 730,000-square-foot Campbell Mithun Tower at 222 S. Ninth St.

Capella University left the space in 2009 to expand to 400,000 square feet at Capella Tower. Oppenheimer is moving from Plaza 7, the former Radisson Hotel at 45 7th St. South, and RJM Construction has been hired to complete a build-out of the space by summer 2011, says Brent Robertson with NorthMarq. His company represents building ownership, Principal Real Estate Investors, and manages the property. Chris Rohrer with Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant in the transaction.

Oppenheimer joins anchor tenants such as Campbell Mithun and Berkley Risk Administrators at the 42-story building, which underwent a $3.5 million remodel project in 2007, Robertson says. He says the 88% occupancy rate, thanks to the recent tenant signing, is much better than the almost 20% vacancy in the downtown. “I think we’re starting to see a slight uptick in activity. There are a few large-block office tenants still looking, I think this was the first to land, and more will start signing space,” he tells GlobeSt.com.

Robertson says he can’t comment on the lease rate for this deal. The average office rate for the CBD is $24.23 per square foot, according to a Grubb & Ellis market report.

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