Leasing
Leases constitute the lifeblood of most commercial real estate. Their importance to both landlords as the main source of revenue and property value, and to tenants as the means by which their business can thrive and grow, cannot be overstated. We strive to provide practical and cost-effective representation of both landlords and tenants in all asset classes, always mindful of how important the lease is to each client while also recognizing that monetary constraints, relative bargaining power and other factors may limit the ability to negotiate the perfect lease. Our experience, knowledge, depth, judgment and confidence allow us to:
Quickly identify the 10 “must haves” for a small business leasing a small retail space for its new business.
Hammer out on a line-by-line basis for a landlord a full-building headquarters lease for a Fortune 500 tenant.
Spearhead nearly 150 retail branch leases over an 18-month span on behalf of a national bank expanding into a new market.
Negotiate 15 subleases for a publicly traded banking institution to offload four floors of excess office space in a downtown Seattle Class A office tower during the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic.
We understand that different considerations and market practices apply, depending on whether you are dealing with an office building, an industrial warehouse, a shopping center, ground floor retail in a mixed-use building, a parking garage or a high-end restaurant. We also understand that almost every tenant, whether represented by us or on the other side, has certain unique requirements and concerns. Similarly, landlords, whether institutional owners or a family with one investment property, have their own set of expectations and constraints as well. Our job is to effectively mold all of these factors and considerations into a unified lease that not only gives landlord and tenants the certainty and clarity they need, but that will then be well-received by their likely audience of current or subsequent investors, lenders and purchasers.
As part of our leasing practice, we have naturally become well versed in ancillary lease documents such as estoppels, subordination and non-disturbance agreements, early access and confidentiality agreements, guaranties, letters of credit, work letters, commencement date letters, assignments, recognition agreements, lease amendments, subleases and landlord consents.
In addition to the foregoing, we have extensive experience with ground leases (including a somewhat unique one for our client as ground lessee that contemplated and now incorporates 7 parallel ground subleases for waterfront office buildings with both leasehold and subleasehold financing in place), absolute net leases in sale-leaseback transactions, build to suit leases and subleases.