Jeff Kaiser, a VP with CB Richard Ellis, represented the landlord Hertz Investment Group in the transaction. He says the tower is about 69% leased with the new tenants. Kaiser tells GlobeSt.com that Bank of America used an option in their lease to terminate 140,000 sf, about half of what they were leasing in the building. "Three years ago, they had more than 360,000 sf. They've given us a big challenge," Kaiser says.
David Morris, Rebekah Bahn and Meg Mannion with Grubb & Ellis|Gundaker Commercial represented Senniger, while Crane was self-represented. The asking rate in the building is $18 per sf, though the two recent tenants got a better deal, Kaiser says, though he couldn't elaborate. "Hertz was very aggressive in getting the space leased," he says.
Bank of America leases space in two Downtown buildings, the other being the Bank of America Plaza, which has the larger space for the tenant, Kaiser says. The Tower is one of two "bookend" buildings, both owned by Hertz, on either side of the old courthouse in the Downtown. Regarding the local market, Kaiser says it could be better. "There's just flat absorption right now, we were thrilled to get these leases."
He says the downtown owners are all waiting to see what a handful of large law firms are going to do as they look for new space. Companies looking to fill about one million sf include Thompson Coburn, Blackwell Sanders, Polsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus, Lewis Rice & Fingersh and Armstrong Teasdale. Some of the firms have said they'll consider moving into Downtown spaces such as the $250 million Ballpark Village, but others are looking more at the nearby suburb of Clayton.
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