Schnitzer issued a request for proposals from brokers and architects several weeks back. A final decision is expected to come in the next two weeks, Schnitzer's Tom Zelenka tells GlobeSt. Sources close the deal say finalists for the listing assignment -- Grubb & Ellis, Doug Bean & Associates and Cushman & Wakefield – were to have given final-round presentations this week.
Zelenka, who spoke with President Ken Novak before talking with GlobeSt Friday afternoon, says the size of the project is in the process of being determined. The city's zoning code allows for a building in that area to be 235-feet tall, or about 20 stories, not including any height bonuses that may be available in exchange for certain public amenities. "We'll build what makes sense and what the marketplace is ready to accept, and that has yet to be determined," says Zelenka. "We're in the process of making decisions and determinations as to what makes market sense at that location at that time."
Whoever wins the listing assignment will be competing for tenants with Norris, Beggs & Simpson brokers Joe Vaughan and Chris Johnson, who have the listing for Louis Dreyfus' 100 Columbia building, a 15-story, 315,000-sf office building just a few blocks away that should be completed in just under two years. Spaces in both buildings are expected to start at about $30 a square foot. Neither project has received final approvals, though 100 Columbia is further along in that regard.
The projects are in response to the successful lease up of the 27-story Fox Tower, which theater magnate turned office builder Tom Moyer developed on spec and completed this year. Although other new office projects are in the works north and west of the downtown core, most brokers agree they generally appeal to a different type of tenant.
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