Week of September 16, 2010
| Wells Fargo Center, 1450 Brickell continue to add to tenant rosters By Yudislaidy Fernandez Almost two months after Miami's newest signature office towers, 1450 Brickell and Wells Fargo Center, added new tenants to their rosters, leasing agents continue negotiations with prospective tenants and those signed are starting to move in. The 582,817-square-foot 1450 Brickell is about 52% occupied, with 304,000 square feet of office space filled, and the 750,000-square-foot Wells Fargo Center is right behind with about 40% full. The 35-story tower on Brickell Avenue, which was recently awarded gold certification from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, has 16 announced tenants on board and a few with signed leases that remain undisclosed due to confidentiality agreements. "Right now we are working on several leases, so we are looking to be at close to 60% (occupied) by the end of the year," said Danet Linares, executive vice president of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, the tower's leasing agent. The building has signed about 60,000 square feet of net new absorption so far, she added, "so we have new blood coming into the city." Signed tenants at Rilea Group's office tower include H.I.G. Capital, a private investment firm; Kempler Energy, a trading company specializing in energy supply and distribution; Spanish bank Bancaja; and law firm Ratzan & Rubio. Financial services firms particularly have gravitated to the building, Ms. Linares noted, which wasn't the case when the tower's leasing efforts began, as law firms had the most interest then. "We got a lot of financial services firms coming into the building…," she said. "It reinforces the fact that Brickell is the financial district and we are at the entrance of the district." 1450 Brickell's largest tenant so far is law firm Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod, which is expected to move into its 80,000 square feet in October, Ms. Linares said. Following that, executive recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International is set to move in in November and financial firm Bank of New York Mellon in December, she added. Global commodities trader Yntegra moved in Sept. 1, joining four tenants already in the building. "We have an incredible roster lined up with truly quality class A tenants," Ms. Linares said. "We got great activity. People really value all of the building's assets, the quality of the building and the location." Leasing rates range from $40 to $50 per square foot on a gross basis. Puerto Madero, the building's full-service Argentine steakhouse and seafood restaurant, is already under construction and leasing agents have said it's expected to open by November. At the 47-story Wells Fargo Center at 333 Avenue of the Americas in downtown Miami, about 300,000 square feet have been leased, said Jack Lowell, the leasing agent. Another 450,000 square feet remain up for grabs at the class A tower, said Mr. Lowell, vice president of Flagler Real Estate Services. Several leases are under negotiations, Mr. Lowell said, but he couldn't discuss them, adding that "negotiations are challenging these days." Quotable leasing rates at Wells Fargo Center, formerly Met 2 Financial Center, range from $43 to $50 per square foot. In July, the tower signed international law firm McDermott Will & Emery — now at Miami Center, 201 S Biscayne Blvd. — to one floor totaling about 25,000 square feet, bringing its tenant roster to five. MDM Development, the building's development firm, also finalized a deal with banking giant Wells Fargo & Co., which now owns Wachovia, for four office floors totaling about 100,000 square feet and named the building for the banking firm. The building's other inked tenants are law firm Greenberg Traurig; international accounting and consulting firm Deloitte; and Business Centers International. Greenberg Traurig is to open its offices by mid-October, marking the second tenant to move into the building, Mr. Lowell said, as Deloitte settled into its offices in July. The latest tenants to sign, McDermott Will & Emery and Wells Fargo, are to move in next year. |
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