Philly law firm grows in NYC, shrinks at home
Drinker Biddle doubles its Manhattan office, darkens a quarter of its One Logan HQ
Philly law firm grows in NYC, shrinks at home
Joseph N. DiStefano
The 660-lawyer Drinker Biddle corporate law firm is expanding its New York office and shrinking its Philadelphia headquarters. The firm is doubling its Manhattan space at Silverstein Properties' 1177 Sixth Ave. (Avenue of the Americas) tower to 31,000 sq ft, even as it prepares to downsize its flagship office at Brandywine Property Trust's One Logan Center (the old Bell Atlantic buliding) to 155,000 sq ft next year, from the current 209,000 sq ft.
It's not about price. Drinker signed a 10-year lease at the New York tower, where listed rents run in the high $70s"/sq ft. Brandywine is asking rents in the "mid-to-high $30s"/sq ft for the upper floors at One Logan.
While rents are lower in Philadelphia, the city's business taxes take away much of the advantage over other downtown business districts, notes Jeffrey A. Baker of Cresa Philadelphia, one of the brokers who represented Drinker in the New York deal.
The tax structure destroys the local economy. Next time you are out of a job, make sure you thank the City's powers-that-be for presiding over a tax structure that penalizes businesses. How many more jobs would be in Center City if not for the taxes? It's similar to the Convention Center's union issues. The few benefit (in this case, government cronies) at the expense of the many,— BillyBoy70- Philly Democrats now even driving lawyers out of the city...yikes.— Professor1982
- The chickens are coming home to roost! There are many cities in this country that are much more business friendly, compared to Philadelphia. Over time, Philadelphia will become Detroit, unless drastic changes are implemented. Guaranteed. The ratio of makers to takers in this city is unsustainable. We tried socialism, but it's been failing since the 60s. Maybe we'll learn our lesson 50 years from now? 100 years?— chrissmith
- Democrats think the source of money is taxes.— Bud Fox
- The first step is the implementation of AVI. It will allow for the gradual transition to relying more on property taxes than business taxes to fund government operations. Once in place, the current property taxes on buildings will likely lead to a slight decrease in rents, but more likely to the increase in the construction of new towers. While the towers are being constructed, I'd expect there to be an announced decrease in business taxes, giving time for the new buildings to reach out to potential tenants, enticing them with a newly reduced tax structure. I would also hope that we would see new contracts in place with city workers, reducing the cost of our healthcare and pension system, while at the same time collecting more unpaid taxes from the deadbeats. Well, at least, this is what I would hope would happen...reality often a very different matter as our government driven by too much self-interest/special interests.....— StewieforPresident
- While rents are lower in Philadelphia, the city's business taxes take away much of the advantage over other downtown business districts, notes Jeffrey A. Baker of Cresa Philadelphia, one of the brokers who represented Drinker in the New York deal.
You said While rents are lower in Philadelphia, the city's business taxes take away much of the advantage over other downtown business districts, notes Jeffrey A. Baker of Cresa Philadelphia, one of the brokers who represented Drinker in the New York deal.
Stewie, you "entice" new businesses by GOV'T NOT TRYING TO PICK THE WINNERS AND LOSERS
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/Philly-law-firm-shrinks-at-home-expands-in-NYC.html#ixzz2PaifN4n9
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