[Updated May 25 at 11a.m.] International law firm Morrison & Foerster has signed a 15-year lease to take 180,000 square feet, or seven floors, of space at 250 West 55th Street, Boston Properties’ planned $1.05 billion, one million-square-foot office building in Midtown, Boston Properties announced today.
Construction on the 39-story building, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, began in late 2007, but was suspended as a result of the recession in 2009, after the completion of excavation and foundations. It is slated to resume in the fall of this year and be completed by 2014.
Mortimer Zuckerman, chairman and CEO of Boston Properties, said the company’s decision to proceed with construction reflected the city’s improving overall economy, particularly the office market. “Upon its completion,” he said in a statement, “[the building] will be considered among the elite office buildings in Manhattan… We are delighted that the prestigious law firm… has selected 250 West 55th Street for its new state-of-the-art home.”
Mark Edelstein, chair of the Morrison & Foerster Realty Group, and who headed up the lease negotiations on behalf of the law firm along with partners John McCarthy and Peter Aitelli, told The Real Deal that the law firm had been able to extend its lease with Vornado Properties at its current space, 1290 Sixth Avenue between 51st and 52nd streets, until they are able to expand into the new premises.
“We chose the developer as much as the location,” he said of the decision to move. “We were involved with [Boston Properties] on Times Square Tower and 5 Times Square. We’ve seen them build buildings really well.”
Edelstein declined to comment on rent for the property.