L&L, BlackRock sign big law firm to big renewal, expansion at 600 Third Ave

Polsinelli adds extra floor, 13K more sf to become largest tenant at Murray Hill tower

L&L Holding Company’s David Berkey and Polsinelli’s Gabriel Dabiri along with 600 Third Avenue (Getty, L&L Holding Company, Polsinelli)
L&L Holding Company’s David Berkey and Polsinelli’s Gabriel Dabiri along with 600 Third Avenue (Getty, L&L Holding Company, Polsinelli)

L&L Holding and BlackRock’s Murray Hill office tower just got a major vote of confidence from its top tenant.

Kansas City-based law firm Polsinelli inked a 10-year lease renewal and expansion at L&L and BlackRock’s 600 Third Avenue, adding a fourth floor and roughly 13,100 square feet to its footprint.

The renewal brings Polsinelli’s footprint at the 42-story tower to more than 52,500 square feet, making it the property’s largest tenant. The law firm has occupied just over 39,000 square feet across three floors in the building since 2015. The New York Post first reported the deal.

L&L’s David Berkey represented the landlord in-house, while CBRE’s Kevin McLennan, Ian Murphy and Silvio Petriello represented Polsinelli. The CBRE team declined to comment on the lease. Asking rents for the space ranged from $80 to $90 per square foot, the Commercial Observer reported.

The 575,200-square-foot property is now 94 percent leased, with other notable tenants including law firm Aaronson Rappaport and investment management firm 3G Capital.

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Polsinelli’s Gabriel Dabiri told The Real Deal that the firm needed more space after growing its New York presence by 63 percent last year, though the expansion only ups its office space by about a third.

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Law firms and finance companies, a traditional backbone of Manhattan’s office market, appear to be regaining market share as technology companies pull back on space following a decade-long leasing binge. Financial, insurance, real estate and law firms accounted for 43 percent of office leases signed in the borough last year, an increase from 2021, while the share of leases signed by tenants in the technology, media and information sectors declined to 19 percent, according to a CBRE analysis.

Polsinelli’s renewal and expansion comes after Manhattan’s office market grinded to a halt in the fourth quarter. Office leasing in the borough dropped 43 percent year over year, with tenants taking just 4.9 million square feet in the final three months of 2022, the lowest quarterly total since the second quarter of 2021, according to Colliers.

L&L and Blackrock acquired the office tower in 2004 for $212 million. The owners have since upgraded the tower’s lobby and redesigned its plaza and public space.