Miami’s 1221 Brickell doubles occupancy

In a dramatic turnaround, premiere Miami office tower 1221 Brickell has signed 14 new leases, for a total of 50,000 square feet, according to a statement from Jones Lang LaSalle, which represents the landlord, Equities Office Properties Trust. In 2010, the building lost it’s anchor tenant, the law firm Greenberg Traurig, which had leased approximately 150,000 square feet. But the new leases, finalized in 2012, nearly double the building’s occupancy rate from 38 percent in 2010 to 70 percent today.

The new tenants include: Bank of New York Mellon, Allen, Dyer, Doppelt, Milbrath & Gilchrist; US Media; Schimmel; INTL FCStone; Liberty Mutual Insurance; and Lydecker Diaz. Jones Lang LaSalle executive vice president Scott Strickland and senior vice president Grant Killingsworth manage leasing for the building’s owner.

“Ownership’s commitment to ongoing capital improvements, an unmatched location … and a gradually strengthening office market have spurred a dramatic turn of events at 1221 Brickell,” Killingsworth said in the statment. “We have nearly doubled the building’s occupancy in just two years by backfilling 140,000 square feet of office space with a diverse roster of credit tenants – and we expect to continue growing occupancy in 2013.” –-Christopher Cameron