Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP inked a deal this month to occupy the top four floors in one of Phoenix's newest high-rise mixed-use developments.
The global law firm leased 80,000 square feet at CityScape and is expected to move into its new digs by 2010.
While completion of the 27-floor office tower at 1 E. Washington St. -- part of the 2.5 million-square-foot retail, residential and office project -- still is two years out, the firm decided to commit before the choicest spaces were taken.
Squire is the second company to sign a CityScape lease with RED Development LLC. Shortly before the groundbreaking last October, Charlotte, N.C.-based financial services company Wachovia Corp. secured 70,000 square feet for its regional headquarters and signage rights at the top of the tower.
Wachovia and Squire are the only confirmed office tenants, but Keith Earnest, vice president of development at RED, said other leases are pending. He would not disclose the names of those companies.
Squire Managing Partner Robert Matia said the firm thought carefully over whether to remodel the space it occupies at Two Renaissance Square or move.
While the Ohio-based firm has been happy at its current downtown Phoenix location, it saw CityScape as an opportunity to design office space from the inside out.
"We really looked at Camelback, but it's very congested and rents are $7 to $10 (per square foot) higher," Matia said. "We made our way to downtown Phoenix 30 years ago, so we decided to stay here."
But Squire won't settle for status quo. The new space will have a more open design that features collaborative workstations and large conference tables "where you can just leave stuff for hours at a time and then come back to it," Matia said.
The law firm's current office has one large terrace with a southern exposure on the 23rd floor of 40 N. Central Ave., which it uses extensively. Its new digs will include at least four balconies with dramatic views in all four directions.
The deal will give Squire 10,000 square feet more than it currently leases for its staff of 150, including 75 lawyers. Having offices at CityScape, Matia said, will carry a certain cachet.
"It's a very monumental type of structure," he said.


Author: Jan Buchholz
Source: The Business Journal