Old Republic Consolidates Atop 555 City Center

The five-year lease, which commences on Sept. 1, drops vacancy in the 480,000-sf office tower to just 2%, according to Shorenstein. The remaining available space is 7,500 sf on the top floor, next to Old Republic, and Old Republic's existing space on the 20th floor.

The value of Old Republic's expansion lease is not being disclosed by the parties involved, but the asking full-service lease rate for the available space is $37 per sf per year. With so little space available in the building, local sources say Old Republic couldn't have received much of a discount.

Indeed, John Dolby, VP of leasing for Shorenstein Realty Services, tells GlobeSt.com that the top floor has been in shell condition since the building was completed four years ago, awaiting a tenant who would pay a premium for the prestigious space. "We've had a lot of interest as we've leased up the building" but the economics they wanted forced them further down in the building, Dolby says.

The 555 City Center building is one of several buildings that comprise Shorenstein's City Center development, which has a combined 3.5 million sf of office space and includes 18 restaurants and food outlets, a dozen or so retail shops, an athletic club and parking for 2,480 vehicles. The Marriott Hotel and Oakland Convention Center sit directly across from the development.

Dolby says vacancy at City Center as a whole is about 3%, which is well below the market average of somewhere between 7% and 9% including subleases, depending on whose numbers are being used. Vacancy at the center could jump a little bit at the end of the year, when APL will give back two of the nine it leases at 1111 Broadway, which has 24,000-sf floor plates.

Don Marek of Mohr Partners in Walnut Creek represented Old Republic. Dolby represented Shorenstein.