March 21st - March 25th, 2011

Jury Selection Begins for 130 Liberty Trial

March 21- A construction company foreman and two supervisors are facing manslaughter charges in connection with the fatal fire in 2007 at the former Deutsche Bank building. The Associated Press reports prosecutors will argue the three men knew about a break in a critical water pipe and covered it up, leaving firefighters defenseless as they tried to battle the flames. Defense lawyers say government regulators are to blame.

Bargains Remain for Commercial Tenants

March 21 – Crain’s New York Business reported Wall Street landlords are seeking rates about 18% less than the city average, hurt by years of exodus by financial firms looking for bigger, more modern offices. Asking rents for buildings at the one-time mecca of global finance have fallen to among the lowest in Manhattan after ranking as some of the priciest as recently as 2008. At the end of February, asking office rents on Wall Street were about $36.51 a square foot, compared with the average of $38.56 for all of downtown and $44.74 for the city.

Commerzbank AG to Remain at 2 WFC

March 23 -  The bank signed on for 173,000 square feet and 15 more years, according to GlobeSt.com. Lease terms were not disclosed; Commerzbank has maintained its US headquarters at Brookfield Office Properties’ World Financial Center since the 1990s. In a release, Brookfield Properties said, when coupled with OppenheimerFunds’ decision in February to stay at 2 WFC after its sublease from Bank of America Merrill Lynch expires, this lease represents more than 400,000 square feet of Merrill sublease space that has been converted to direct at the 2.3-million-square-foot office property.