Vinson & Elkins LLP, one of the oldest and largest law firmsin the United States, has leased approximately 135,000 sf of officespace at the proposed Terrace Building 7 on Via Fortuna Rd.,officials told GlobeSt. com.V&E, which is anticipating a movein May 2002, will take about four floors of the 192,000-sf building- one of seven buildings planned in the Terrace Development.

The Terrace is a 109-acre, master-planned, mixed-use developmentthat will have 1.1 million sf of office space plus retail space,308 luxury town homes and an upscale hotel. The development, beingmarketed by Colliers Oxford Commercial Inc., will be situated inthe northeast quadrant of Loop 360 and the Mopac Expressway.Terrace I and Terrace II, with 115,000 sf each, have beencompleted. Construction is under way for Terrace III, slated for amid-2001 completion.

Attracting one of the premier law firms in the countrysubstantiates the development as not only a good location fortechnology based-companies, but also for traditional downtowntenants, say brokers. "The northwest market of Austin is emergingas Austin's version of an 'uptown,'" says Jamil Alam, senior vicepresident and director of brokerage services at Trammell Crow Co.Alam, who represented V&E in the transaction, believes"downtown Austin will remain a strong, viable, 24 hour submarket"despite the northwest surge.