Company Press Release: Grubb & Ellis Company
April 21, 2000
NORTHBROOK, IL -- Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE) yesterday announced that the law firm Ballard Spahr Andrews
& Ingersoll, LLP, has renewed its lease at Mellon Bank Center, an HRPT property located at 1735 Market Street
in Philadelphia. Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll has expanded operations to a total of 204,811 square feet.
The firm originally moved to Mellon Bank Center in 1991. The law firm's space at Mellon Bank Center, occupying
the top floors below the property's signature pyramid top, is one of the premier spaces in the city. This renewal
and expansion is the most significant lease transaction since Mellon Bank Center was purchased by 9 Penn Center
Associates, LP, part of HRPT of Newton, Massachusetts. HRPT Properties Trust is an NYSE-listed, real estate investment
trust that owns over 190 buildings totaling almost 20 million square feet. In Center City, office towers owned
by HRPT include 1600 Market Street, 1735 Market Street and 200 North 16th Street and total 2.7 million square feet.
Grubb & Ellis' Wayne Fisher, Senior Vice President, Advisory Services Group, and Craig Scheuerle, Vice President,
Advisory Services Group are the exclusive leasing agents for this 1.3 million square foot property.
``We are delighted to solidify our presence at one of the premiere buildings in the City of Philadelphia. Our expansion
in the building will enhance our ability to serve our clients,'' said David Cohen, Chairman, Ballard Spahr Andrews
& Ingersoll, LLP.
Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP was founded in 1886 and is nationally ranked among the top 100 largest
law firms by size, with approximately 350 lawyers. In addition to the Philadelphia office, the firm has offices
in Baltimore, Md.; Camden, N.J.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Voorhees, N.J.; and Washington, DC. Lawyers at the firm
represent clients in the following areas of law: business and finance, including banking, consumer financial services,
emerging businesses and venture capital, investment management, franchise and distribution, mergers and acquisitions,
REITs, securities, and securitization; employee benefits; estates; health care; information technology; litigation,
including commercial, antitrust, securities, labor and employment, bankruptcy, insurance, white-collar criminal,
civil rights, product liability, intellectual property, and environmental matters; public finance; real estate,
including construction, hotel/resort/timeshare, housing, and zoning and land use; tax; project finance; and workouts
and failed transactions.
Grubb & Ellis Company is one of the nation's largest commercial real estate services firms. Through its offices,
affiliates and global strategic alliance with Knight Frank, one of the leading property consulting firms in Europe
and Asia, the company provides a full range of real estate services, including advisory, management and consultative
services, to users and investors worldwide. With the collective resources of nearly 7,000 people in 200 offices
in 27 countries, Grubb & Ellis professionals arrange the sale or lease of such business properties as industrial,
retail and office buildings, as well as the acquisition and disposition of multi-family and hospitality properties
and commercial land. Major multiple-market clients have a single point of contact through the firm's corporate
and institutional units for coordination of all of the firm's services as well as site selection, feasibility studies,
market forecasts and research. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.grubb-ellis.com .
SOURCE: Grubb & Ellis Company