Newmark Grubb Knight Frank today announced that it has facilitated a lease renewal of 179,307 square feet to Ballard Spahr LLP, a national law firm, at BNY Mellon Center in Philadelphia for a term in excess of 15 years. Wayne Fisher, executive managing director and Craig Scheuerle, senior managing director, represented the landlord, CommonWealth REIT, and CBRE represented the tenant in this transaction. The property is managed by Reit Management & Research LLC, Real Estate Services.
Built in 1990, BNY Mellon Center is a skyline-defining trophy office building in Center City Philadelphia. Crowned with a distinctive pyramid, the building is one of the most recognizable in the region. Firms such as BNY Mellon, FMC Corporation and Sunoco are headquartered at the property, which has maintained occupancy rates over 90 percent since its construction.
With more than 500 lawyers in 13 offices in the United States, Ballard Spahr LLP provides a range of services in litigation, business and finance, real estate, intellectual property and public finance. The firm represents Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, health systems, investors and developers, government agencies and nonprofits in national and international legal matters.
CommonWealth REIT is a real estate investment trust, or REIT, which primarily owns office and industrial properties located throughout the United States. As of June 30, 2012, CWH owned $7.2 billion of office and industrial properties with approximately 52.8 million square feet located in 31 states, Washington, D.C. and Australia. CWH is headquartered in Newton, Mass. Reit Management & Research LLC, Real Estate Services, also headquartered in Newton, manages more than 93 million square feet of commercial office, industrial and medical office buildings across the country.
About Newmark Grubb Knight Frank
A part of BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGCP), Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is one of the largest commercial real estate service firms in the U.S. It brings together the strategic consultative approach to creating value for clients and leading position in the New York market that are hallmarks of Newmark; the complementary strengths of Grubb & Ellis in leasing and management, investment sales, valuation and capital markets services; and BGC’s financial strength, proprietary technology, expertise in global capital markets and deep relationships with many of the world’s leading financial institutions.
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, together with its affiliates and London-based partner Knight Frank employ more than 11,000 professionals, operating from more than 300 offices in established and emerging property markets on five continents. This major force in real estate is meeting the local and global needs of tenants, owners, investors and developers worldwide.