DALLAS — This article was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original article here.
Greenberg Traurig LLP plans to depart its sky-high downtown Dallas office for new digs down the street in Uptown.
The New York-based law firm has signed a lease for 49,402 square feet in the McKinney & Olive high-rise. That will keep the building virtually completely leased once another major law firm departs in the coming years.
Greenberg Traurig currently offices in the 55-story Dallas Arts Tower on Ross Avenue, formerly known as Chase Tower and the fourth-tallest building in the city. As of 2018, GT was leasing around 43,000 square feet in the downtown building.
The lease at McKinney & Olive is a win for building owners Granite Properties Inc. and Highwoods Properties Inc., which acquired the 20-story tower in 2022. And it adds to the stream of companies leaving downtown for shiny, new buildings just up the street in Uptown — a financial hub that's evolving to become a more dynamic destination for companies from all sorts of industries.
Greenberg Traurig, which has 48 offices across the world, plans to take up two floors in McKinney & Olive and move in sometime in spring 2026. The firm has 76 attorneys in the Dallas office.
Greenberg Traurig first opened an office in Dallas' Arts District in 2003. It's been growing steadily since then and the move to Uptown supports the firm's "continued growth strategy and strong presence in Dallas and in Texas," according to Joseph Coniglio, office managing shareholder.
"This one-of-a-kind building, its amenities and Granite’s focus on the customer experience will provide our attorneys and clients with a compelling environment to work, meet and collaborate," Coniglio said in a statement.
Paul Bennett, senior managing director at Granite, said his company has been pleased with the building’s leasing activity and performance in the past two years.
"McKinney & Olive is a magnet for companies and employees who are attracted to its high-quality work environment and its location in Uptown," Bennett said in a statement.
When Plano-based Granite and Raleigh, North Carolina-based Highwood partnered in 2022 to buy McKinney & Olive, the total investment was reportedly $394.7 million. The building was originally developed by Crescent Real Estate and opened in 2016. It was designed by the late, acclaimed architect Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli.
The building features 507,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of retail space, occupied by restaurants including Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, Mexican Sugar, Leela’s Wine Bar, Flower Child and Doc B’s Fresh Kitchen. Office tenants include Foley & Lardner LLP, McKinsey & Co., Cushman & Wakefield and CrossFirst Bank. Law firm Sidley Austin LLP is also a major Olive & McKinney tenant but is slated to move to Granite's new tower, 23Springs, which is nearing the end of construction.
In addition to a 1-acre piazza, McKinney & Olive boasts an expansive lobby, a fifth-floor rooftop terrace, valet parking as well as in-service dry cleaning, auto detailing and a shoeshine.
Newmark’s Mike Shuler, Kyle Jett and John Shaunfield represented Greenberg Traurig, and Granite’s Robert Jimenez, Burson Holman and Elizabeth Fortado represented the landlords.
Granite and Highwood are also developing 23Springs down the street, at the intersection of Cedar Springs Road and Maple Avenue. It is already Uptown's tallest tower and is expected to deliver in March 2025.
Bennett said Granite is "seeing deal velocity and activity picking up across Uptown."
