Akermann Senterfitt Takes 48,000 Sq. Ft. at 666 Fifth Avenue
By Daniel Edward Rosen July 5, 2012 1:00 pm
reprintsAkerman Senterfitt, a transactions and trial law firm based in Florida, has signed a 48,000-square-foot lease for two floors at 666 Fifth Avenue, the Kushner Companies-owned office tower that recently received a fresh infusion of capital from Vornado Realty Trust (VNO).
The law firm will be taking the 19th and 20th floors in the building. Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, another law firm, formerly occupied those two floors, as was first reported by Lois Weiss of The New York Post. The asking rent was in the low $80s-a-square foot, according to sources.
The lease is for 13 years.
Frederick Marek of The Vortex Group represented Akerman Senterfitt in the deal. Tom Costanzo, Glen Weiss, and Jared Solomon, all of Vornado, represented the firm in-house. Phone calls to Vornado were not returned Thursday.
Jared Kushner, the owner of 666 Fifth Avenue, is also the owner and publisher of The Commercial Observer. He did not immediately return phone calls requesting comment.
Last December, Vornado pledged $80 million of equity in the 39-story office tower while embarking on an ambitious capital improvement program. Around that same time, the building had upwards of 250,000 square feet of availability.
“We took all the space off the market as the building was being recapped,” said a person close to the deal. A marketing center was set up in the building’s 23rd floor which showcased the building’s new “sharp modern image.”
Ackerman Senterfitt, which was outgrowing its space at 335 Madison Avenue, explored the 19th and 20th floors as the space was technically off the market.
“They liked the layouts,” said a person familiar with the deal. The firm is slated to move into the space in the first quarter of 2013 and is currently remodeling the space.
“They are going to aesthetically freshen up the space,” said the person. “They are going to do some construction, but not blow up the floors.”
drosen@observer.com
