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Lawyerly Lairs: Cleary Expands; New Digs for Gibson

One Liberty Plaza 1 Liberty Plaza Cleary Gottlieb Steen Hamilton Above the Law blog.jpgNot a heck of a lot going on today, a Friday in the holiday season. So let’s fall back on a staple of these pages: New York real estate.

If you’re an associate at Cleary Gottlieb who’s a fan of the current offices at One Liberty Plaza, congratulations. You’re not going anywhere anytime soon. From today’s New York Post:

[P]owerhouse law firm Cleary Gottlieb inked a deal to expand by 100,000 square feet at One Liberty Plaza. The law firm just signed a 20-year lease for 550,000 square-feet with landlord Brookfield Properties after more than a year of what Newmark Knight Frank broker Mark Weiss called “very competitive” and “very intricate” negotiations.

Cleary Gottlieb previously had 450,000 square feet under a lease due to expire in 2010. The “competitive” aspect was an attempt by Larry Silverstein to lure the firm to his new 7 World Trade Center.

Seven World Trade is a beautiful new building. But it’s expensive; we’re guessing Cleary got a very good deal to stay in its current spot. (The terms of the renewal were not disclosed.)

Meanwhile, a few miles uptown, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher is making a move. Details after the jump.

From the New York Observer:

The law firm Gibson Dunn is in the final stage of wrapping up a 200,000-square-foot lease for the tower floors of a planned Eighth Avenue skyscraper, a source said.

Gibson Dunn would be the first tenant for the 38-story, 900,000-square-foot tower, at the corner of 55th street, that is being developed by Mort Zuckerman’s Boston Properties and Madison Equities.

Is it a smart move? The jury is still out:

[S]ome brokers around the city are scratching their heads. “I don’t understand what they’re doing,” said one major Manhattan broker. “It seems like Gibson Dunn only signs at the top of the market.”…

One broker sniped that it’s hard for Gibson Dunn to get a good read on the market when the firm has the dubious industry distinction of constantly switching brokers. The firm’s current broker is Lewis Miller of CB Richard Ellis, but in 2004 when it signed on to an extra floor at 200 Park, its broker was Tara Stacom of Cushman & Wakefield. Before that, in 1997, it was represented by Henry Goodfriend and James de Jong, according to a story in Real Estate Weekly, and Robert Emden—now of PBS Real Estate—brokered its first deal at 200 Park in the late 80’s.

Even though midtown Manhattan is way more appealing and convenient than downtown Manhattan (at least in our opinion), lower Manhattan has its virtues — like much lower rents. Asking rents at One Liberty Plaza, Cleary’s current and future digs, are in the $60s per square foot (and were as low as the $30s after 9/11). Meanwhile, it appears that GDC will be paying over $100 a square for its new space.

Legal Eagles Sign Liberty Plaza Deal [New York Post]
Zuckerman Zipping Up First Lease at New Midtown Tower [New York Observer]

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