PROMINENT LAW FIRM INCREASE SIZE OF FUTURE FORT LAUDERDALE OFFICE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Daniella Aragon-Andre
Levy Public Relations
A new Class-A, 387,402-square-foot building in downtown Fort Lauderdale is now 100% leased after two contracts totaling 7,601 square feet recently closed.
One of those lease deals will expand the office footprint in that building of a large Florida law firm that was founded in Miami in 1910.
Shutts & Bowen added 3,670 more square feet to its future office branch in The Main Las Olas at 201 E. Las Olas, increasing the size of its office on the 22nd floor to 14,620 square feet.
The firm originally closed on a deal to occupy 10,950 square feet of office in April, but opted to upsize to ensure a comfortable environment for its attorneys and staff and have enough room for new attorneys and lateral partners who want to join Shutts & Bowen, a spokesman said.
“Shutts continues to be optimistic in South Florida,” Adam Miller, marketing director, stated in an e-mail.
Headquartered in Downtown Miami, Shutts & Bowen employs 300 attorneys in offices throughout Florida. The firm will be moving its Fort Lauderdale branch out of its 15,000-square-foot office of 24 years at 200 E. Broward Blvd. and into The Main Las Olas in March 2023.
Shutts & Bowen was represented by Zach Wendelin and Kevin Probel of CBRE. Danet Linares, Tere Blanca, Christina Jolley, and Sky Jones of Blanca Commercial Real Estate represented The Main’s landlords, Stiles and Shorenstein Properties LLC.
In addition, Blanca Commercial Real Estate team represented The Main in direct negotiations with Salt Lake City-based Zions Bank (Nasdaq: ZION) for its 3,931 square feet of office. The bank will relocate from a temporary co-working space to The Main Las Olas in the first quarter of 2023, a spokeswoman for Blanca Commercial Real Estate stated.
Finished in July 2021, the 25-story Main Las Olas is a 1.4-million-square foot complex built by Fort Lauderdale-based Stiles and San Francisco-based Shorenstein on 2.7 acres of land leased from Broward College. Besides the 387,000-plus-square-foot office component, Main Las Olas has 341 apartment units, 17,355 square feet of retail, a 2,951-square-foot fitness center, a 3,360-square-foot office lounge and conference center, and an outdoor terrace with a fire pit, bar, and a glass floor oculus with panoramic views of the ground below.
The Main Las Olas has the highest asking rents in Broward County, the Blanca Commercial Real Estate spokeswoman said. As of April its asking rents for office ranged from $48 to $50 a square foot, not counting property assessments, utilities, and other expenses.
Leasing the largest space within The Main Las Olas is RSM US LLP, an audit, tax, and consulting firm. RSM secured the entire top floor of The Main’s office building earlier this year. RSM is due to move into its 16,570-square-foot space in the first quarter of 2023.
Other companies that have leased space within Main Las Olas include JPMC, Marcum, Starr Indemnity, Raymond James, Cherry Bekaert, Synovus Bank, Walker Dunlop, and Starboard Value.
Since the pandemic, local and new-to-market companies have sought quality office space in South Florida, which resulted in higher asking rents and dropping vacancies, brokers have told the Business Journal. Although there is concern that the overall economy may slow the pace of deals, companies continue to move to the region.
