Law firm Duane Morris inks 89K sf deal at 1540 Broadway

National law firm Duane Morris renewed its lease for 89,000 square feet at the Bertelsmann building at 1540 Broadway, The Real Deal has learned.

The company, which initially leased the space in 2006, signed for an additional 10 years, the tenant’s broker, Mark Weiss of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, told The Real Deal. Starting rent for the space is in the low-$70s per square foot, according to data provided by Compstak.

Weiss and his colleague Moshe Sukenik of NGKF represented Duane Morris in the deal. The landlord, a partnership between Edge Fund Advisors, HSBC Alternative Investments Limited and CB Richard Ellis Investors, was represented by CBRE’s Howard Fiddle, Eric Deutsch and Christie Harle.

The team at CBRE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative for Edge Fund could not immediately be reached.

Duane Morris will continue to occupy the 11th, 12th, 14th and part of the 16th floors at the 44-story skyscraper designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

CBRE Investors nabbed the property for $355 million in 2009. It was seized from embattled developer Harry Macklowe by Deutsche Bank and suffered from persistent vacancy until that point. CBRE completed capital improvements and significantly increased occupancy. CBRE sold a 49 percent non-controlling interest in the property to Edge Fund and HSBC Alternative Investments in 2010 for $254.8 million.

Duane Morris initially considered relocating once its lease expired, but decided to stay put after negotiations, Weiss said.