Sidley Austin has renewed its lease at 1501 K Street N.W., taking 289,000 square feet through 2031.
In an interview, Washington managing partner Mark Hopson said that the firm considered new development options as well as taking space in other existing buildings.
Ultimately, Sidley did not follow the lead of firms like Arnold & Porter or Covington & Burling, which moved east to take space in new developments. Instead, Sidley opted to renew its lease ahead of its 2016 expiration date.
In January, Arnold & Porter announced that it would take 375,000 square feet at 601 Massachusetts Avenue N.W., the site previously occupied by NPR. In October, Covington & Burling inked a 20-year lease for 420,000 square feet in the CityCenterDC development northwest of Chinatown.
Hopson said that the renewed lease gives the Washington office, the ninth largest law office in the district, room to grow. From 2010 to 2011, Sidley's Washington office grew by 5.6 percent to 266 attorneys.
"We're taking more, and not surprisingly," Hopson said. "This firm has been in a growth pattern and we are continuing to grow."
Built in 1924, the 10-story building was renovated in 2001, the same year that Sidley moved to the location. Hopson said that Sidley would made additional renovations, beginning in 2014. The renovations will be done floor-by-floor, with each floor taking about six weeks to complete. If all goes according to plan, the entire renovation should be finished by 2015.
Hopson declined to go into the financial specifics of the lease other than to say that the leasing structure is "complicated."
"Vornado was very reasonable and they compromised a bit on their position and we compromised a bit as well," Hopson said. "They are pleased and we think that the pricing that we have is reasonable in the market."
In an earnings call last week for Vornado Realty Trust, Mitchell Schear, the president of Charles E Smith Commercial Realty, touted the lease deal to investors.
"In the market where law firms are shrinking and generally moving into new spaces, Sidley will use swing space in our building while they renovate in place to make the space work better for them now and well into the future," Schear said on the call.
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