Berliner Cohen, a Northern California full-service business law firm founded and headquartered in San Jose, has renewed its lease for 42,409 square feet of office space at Ten Almaden, the 17-story, four-star office tower at 10 Almaden Blvd. in downtown San Jose owned by KBS REIT III Inc.
The 10-year renewal continues one of the longest-running tenant relationships in the building. Berliner Cohen was among the original occupants when Ten Almaden opened, first moving in in 1989, and has occupied space there continuously since. The firm's headcount has grown roughly 20% over the past five years, with about 80 attorneys and approximately 150 total employees in four location. The expansion was driven largely by increasing demand for the firm's litigation, employment and estate planning practices.
Ten Almaden totals 309,255 square feet in downtown San Jose's central business district. KBS REIT III, a Newport Beach, California-based non-traded real estate investment trust focused on office properties nationwide, acquired the LEED Gold-certified tower from Equity Office Properties in December 2014 for $116.7 million. The building features a three-story atrium lobby, a fitness center, an outdoor pool, a conference center, electric vehicle charging stations and a four-level parking garage. Other tenants at the property have included BPM, PwC, Citibank, Cushman & Wakefield, Kidder Mathews and Adobe.
Berliner Cohen has served a broad clientele for more than 45 years, providing counsel in areas including corporate law, real estate, labor and employment, estate planning, land use, intellectual property and tax law. The firm also maintains smaller offices in Modesto, Merced and Mariposa. Its clients have included Bank of America, Applied Materials, the San Jose Sharks, KB Home and the County of Santa Clara.
The renewal lands as downtown San Jose's office market remains soft, with vacancy hovering around 30%, giving tenants considerable leverage in lease negotiations.
For the record
Todd Beatty, Erik Hallgrimson and Bob Simpson of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord. Berliner Cohen represented itself in the transaction.
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