Blank Rome Re-Ups for 220,000 SF at One Logan Square

The rising vacancy rate in Center City, which includes many large blocks of contiguous space in class A buildings, such as Bell Atlantic Tower and Two Liberty Place, gave the firm a lot of options. Sal Ambrosio, a partner in Radner-based Tactix Real Estate Advisors, tells GlobeSt.com without disclosing details, "this transaction ultimately negotiated an agreeable solution for both Blank Rome and Brandywine." The rental rate and aggregate value of the lease are undisclosed.

Mid-year data from the local office of Cushman & Wakefield puts the overall CBD office vacancy at 16.7% and the vacancy in the West of Broad submarket at 18.3%. The average asking rental rate for space West of Broad is $26.96 per sf, according to the C&W report, which also states "effective rents…remain below asking rents."

On condition of anonymity, a Center City office broker tells GlobeSt.com, "considering the options and competition for Blank Rome, the rate may well be in the $20-per-sf range. It's a stable, credit-worthy tenant, a plum."

Ambrosio and Glenn Blumenfeld, another Tactix partner, represented Blank Rome. Sandy Richardson and Jennifer Unterberger were the in-house negotiators for the owner, Plymouth Meeting-based Brandywine Realty Trust. In a statement, Fred Blume, managing partner and CEO of Blank Rome, says, "in an effort to address the firm's continued growth and success, we concluded that One Logan Square provided the best facility for our clients and employees."

Brandywine acquired the two-building, 1.3-million-sf One and Two Logan Square office complex as part of its $600-million acquisition of the former, primarily suburban Rubenstein portfolio in August 2004. The Logan Square properties, which are connected to the Four Seasons Hotel by a courtyard, represented Brandywine's entry into the Center City office market.

Cira Centre, scheduled to open by year-end, now joins Brandywine's Center City holdings. Occupancy in the Logan Square buildings averaged 96% when Brandywine bought them, and, Gerard Sweeney, president and CEO, says the Blank Rome renewal "solidifies occupancy in our Center City Philadelphia portfolio [including preleasing at Cira Centre] at 96%."