Two Full-Floor Tenants Keep Top-Tier Offices

Wachovia Securities has re-upped 20,260 sf in Preston Commons II at 8115 Preston Rd. and the law firm of Littler Mendelson has agreed to stay in Trammell Crow Center at 2001 Ross Ave. in the Downtown, but shift its floor from the 26th to the 25,177-sf 15th story. Dealmakers say both tenants had one year to go on their leases when they inked the renewals.

Wachovia has been on Preston Commons' directory since 1997. "We looked at a new building and Uptown. In the end, it made sense to renew," Seth Weinstein, principal of Dallas-based Predium, tells GlobeSt.com. "We achieved a significant savings. It was a below-market deal."

Los Angeles-based BentleyForbes Group has Trey Smith and Clint Madison with Capstar Commercial Real Estate Services in Dallas leasing the 144,803-sf, eight-story Preston Commons II. The quoted rate is $25.50 per sf to $27.50 per sf.

At Trammell Crow Center, a finish-out crew has started rebuilding the 15th floor for Littler Mendelson, which plans to change floors in the spring, according to Kirby White, leasing director for Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. The Fort Worth-based REIT co-owns the 1.2-million-sf, 93%-leased high rise with New York City powerhouse, JPMorgan Asset Management.

White says the move was motivated by the law firm's need to reconfigure its space. "It's good for us because we picked up high-rise law firm space and there's interest in it already," he says. Three law firms, all new names in the CBD, are negotiating for the 26th floor, according to White.

Littler Mendelson, a tenant since the early 1990s, will pick up an extra 308 sf with the relocation to the former PriceWaterhouseCoopers' floor. Bo Estes with Grubb & Ellis Co. in Dallas represented the San Francisco-based firm's local team. Senior vice presidents Jeff Eckert and James Esquivel, now part of CB Richard Ellis, are quoting $25 per sf to $28 per sf for the CBD space.