WASHINGTON, DC-Earlier this year there was a brief flurry of excitement in the DC leasing market that a Skadden law firm was looking to leave the 350,000 or so square feet it occupies at 1440 New York Ave. Rumor had it that Skadden was poised to take space at the CityCenter project.

If the firm had been considering it, that mood quickly passed. It opted to stay where put and, according to Studley’s Tom Fulcher, is now on the brink of finalizing its renewal. Word is, he tells GlobeSt.com, it will be completely done within the first quarter of this year. Skadden did not return a call to GlobeSt.com in time for publication. 

The Skadden story is an apt one for the DC market. Tenants are entrenched in their spaces and eager to reap whatever concessions they can from their existing landlords. The DC lease market has essentially been moribund for the past two years and can easily stay that way for another year, Fulcher says. “There is activity, but none of it translate into significant new growth. Small tenants--under 4,000 square feet--are very active, for instance. But, on the whole there have been few changes in rent rates or TIs.” Landlords are just as eager to grant concessions as they were a year ago, he adds, pointing to rates of $85 to $90 per square foot and between six to nine months of free rent.