No, not that CityCenter. We’re talking about D.C., not Las Vegas.
The Washington office of Skadden might be moving. The Washington Business Journal reports:
The Skadden law firm is on the verge of agreeing to lease space at the new CityCenter D.C. project, kick-starting the first phase of the old convention center site after nearly two years of delay.
The firm signed a letter of intent to lease 350,000 square feet at the downtown project, but the nonexclusive letter is contingent upon the developer, Hines/Archstone, obtaining financing to begin construction….
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But it’s not yet a done deal. What other options is Skadden considering?
According to the WBJ, Skadden is considering three yet-to-be-constructed buildings. It might also renew at its current address, 1440 New York Avenue NW.
We’ve been to Skadden’s existing D.C. offices, and they’re quite nice — especially the gym, which even provides lawyers with freshly laundered workout gear (down to jockstraps). But it sounds like the firm has outgrown these digs. It already sprawls over three buildings (1440 New York Ave., 1420 New York Ave., and 700 14th Street) — and if it renews, it will have to expand into new space.
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Moving to CityCenter would make a lot of sense. It’s located just down the street from the current Skadden offices, so commutes wouldn’t be significantly affected. And the development looks spiffy, at least in the architect’s rendering:
Any such move wouldn’t happen for a while, though. The financing has to be lined up, and then construction has to start:
The CityCenter developers have been talking to unnamed potential equity investors since mid-2009, but those conversations have recently evolved into detailed, in-depth discussions. Hines Interests LP hopes to complete negotiations with equity investors and Skadden soon, so construction on the first phase could start in the first quarter of 2011 with a July 2013 move-in date. Skadden’s current lease expires in October 2013.
Our main concern: If the CityCenter development displaces the existing parking lot, where will the wonderfully cheap BoltBus and Megabus lines pick up and drop off in D.C.?
UPDATE: It looks like Skadden is staying put and not moving to City Center, according to the Washington Post and Washington Business Journal.
Skadden Signs Letter of Intent for CityCenter DC [DCist]
Skadden lease could kick-start CityCenter [Washington Business Journal]