MIAMI-Less than 18 months after coming online—and in the face of naysayers who thought it would take many years to absorb the glut of office space—1450 Brickell has reached 70% occupancy. The tower crossed the milestone by wooing a global insurance broker to locate its Latin American regional headquarters in the class A office building from Coral Gables.

Willis of Florida Inc. inked a deal for 18,875 square feet of office space in the 582,817-square-foot building. Willis' long-term lease at 1450 Brickell marks an expansion for the firm. The London-based company employs roughly 20,000 people at more than 400 offices in 120 countries. Its US headquarters is located in Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), the nation's tallest building. Financial terms of the new lease were not disclosed.

Tere Blanca and Danet Linares of Blanca Commercial Real Estate represented landlord 1450 Brickell and its owner, Rilea Group in the transaction. Josh Kuriloff and William Holly of Cushman & Wakefield represented Willis of Florida.

“Our tenant base is fairly representative of what has traditionally been the case in the CBD of Miami,” Blanca, CEO of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, tells GlobeSt.com. “We have a strong financial services component in banking, insurance and wealth management service, as well as global multinational firms and large conglomerates with international operations.”

Willis of Florida becomes the latest blue chip tenant to take space at 1450 Brickell, joining JP Morgan Chase, BNY/Mellon, American Express, law firm Bilzin Sumberg, commercial real estate services firm HFF, law firm Berger Singerman, Spanish financial institution Bancaja, City National Bank, executive search firm Korn/Ferry International and private investment firm H.I.G. Capital.

Linares, executive vice president at Blanca Commercial Real Estate, believes the flurry of major tenants taking space at 1450 Brickell has a net-positive effect on the region's class A office market. 

“As top quality companies round out 1450 Brickell's tenant roster, we're beginning to see a healthier class A office market overall,” she says in a statement. “Top tier assets across the market have experienced gradually rising leasing rates, improved occupancy rates and less cash allowances than provided by landlords in the past two years.”