MIAMI—Downtown Miami's office market is seeing vacancy decrease, thanks to deals like this one. One of Miami's largest law firms has inked the largest office deal in the City's Central Business district this year.

Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson is expanding its office space to include 110,000 square feet at Museum Tower, a class A building at 150 West Flagler Street. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“After evaluating buildings in Miami's urban core, we decided that expanding and upgrading our current space at Museum Tower was the best long-term move for our firm,” says Stearns shareholder and managing director Rick Schatz. “The physical and technological improvements we've made over the years, coupled with our Flagler Street location and proximity to the courthouse, puts us in position to remain efficient while serving our clients.”

The 110,000 square foot office space lease represents a 7,000 square foot expansion for Stearns. The firm's headquarters has been located at Museum Tower since 1987. Over the years, the firm has made extensive improvements to its office space, even building out a full-service courtroom.

CREC president and co-founder Carol Brooks and shareholder and senior vice president Steven Hurwitz represented Stearns in the transaction. Gaedeke Group vice president Kirk Fetter represented the building's ownership, Gaedeke Holdings Limited.

“Miami's legal sector is thriving as new investment pours into the market, putting law firms in position to grow their practices while making smart, forward-looking improvements to their offices,” says Carol Brooks. “Though Stearns Weaver Miller could have moved to any number of class A buildings, they are doubling down on Flagler Street because they value the investments they've made in their offices to date and believe this location puts them in position to grow.”

Overall, the CBD posts a 20% vacancy rate, which is down from over 23% at the height of the recession. All that is according to the Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Office Study. What are the biggest challenges that the office market faces that could have long-lasting repercussions in downtown? Danet Linares, vice chairman of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, has some keen insights.

“One of the biggest challenges is skyrocketing land values. A residential condo boom is helping drive land values to new heights and is making it economically unfeasible to build any other type of use except for condos,” Linares tells GlobeSt.com.

“Recently a foreign investor paid $125 million per acre for a site on the Miami River and Biscayne Bay. An office developer can't compete with that. A solution may be the development of more mixed-use projects, where office, hotel and residential uses will co-exist.”