ArentFox Schiff Signs 120K-SF Office Lease at D.C. Trophy Building

Out with Fannie Mae (FNMA), in with ArentFox Schiff. 

The latter, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm, has signed a roughly 120,000-square-foot relocation lease for Carr Properties’ Midtown Center in Downtown D.C., taking up a chunk of the building’s footprint that Fannie Mae intends to vacate. ArentFox Schiff’s change of scenery represents a roughly 43 percent size reduction from its 208,000-square-foot headquarters just two blocks away at 1717 K Street NW, which the firm has occupied since 2013. 

The law firm’s new, long-term lease at Midtown Center will include three floors at the 14-story, 869,000-square-foot property’s east tower, according to Carr. The complex, which was completed in 2017, is notable for the three zigzagging pedestrian bridges connecting its two halves 100 feet above ground. 

Arthur Greenberg, Tom Fulcher and Adam Brecher of Savills represented the law firm in the deal, while Carr was represented in-house by Kaitlyn Rausse. ArentFox Schiff plans to move into its new digs in early 2028.

“Going into our new office search, we had two main priorities: location and energy,” Anthony Lupo, ArentFox Schiff chairman, said.

Representatives for ArentFox Schiff did not immediately respond to a request for further comment. 

Fannie Mae’s history with Midtown Center, meanwhile, is a turbulent one after initially signing a 720,000-square-foot lease through 2029, but opting in January to vacate the complex entirely, years ahead of schedule. Then, in August, the mortgage giant changed course again, striking a long-term deal to keep 340,000 square feet at the complex.

WeWork (WE) also leases space at Midtown Center, signing for 110,000 square feet in 2019. Yet it too reached a space- and rent-reduction agreement with Carr earlier this year amid the coworking company’s bankruptcy woes. 

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.