Morrison & Foerster—the international San Francisco–based law firm that takes a twisted sort of pleasure in its nickname, MoFo (the firm’s URL is mofo.com, just one “s” away from an entirely different kind of Web site)—has hired CB Richard Ellis to find it new office space in Manhattan, according to industry sources.
Right now, Morrison & Foerster is housed in about 160,000 square feet at the utterly vanilla-looking 44-story, 2 million–square–foot tower at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, of which Vornado Realty Trust bought a controlling interest for more than $1.8 billion at the height of the market in May 2007.
CBRE executive vice president Paul Myers declined to comment for this story, and the firm did not respond to a request for comment.
But word has it the firm’s lease at 1290 Avenue of the Americas expires in 2012, and as any casual observer of the market will confirm, a tenant with even a marginally imminent lease expiration should act soon. After years of landlord hegemony, this commercial real estate market, all bloated with excess office space, belongs entirely to the tenant.
drubinstein@observer.com
