Byrnam Wood

Nike, Inc

In late 2002, Nike sought new headquarters and showroom space in New York. They were looking for specific physical characteristics as well as a cutting edge, "hip" location reflecting the personalities of its brands including Nike, Converse, Cole-Haan and others. They also wanted to be represented by a client-driven firm, unburdened by conflicting relationships with landlords.

After an exhaustive search, we developed a short list of suitable properties headed by 111 Eighth Avenue, a massive building originally erected by The Port of New York Authority in 1920. Negotiations were well advanced when the onset of war in 2003 put everything on hold. A year later, we resumed discussions and had to start virtually from scratch to arrange for different space in the building and define lease terms and conditions satisfactory to the client. They ultimately took 90,000 square feet in 111 Eighth and another 70,000 square feet for Converse nearby at 28-40 West 23rd Street.

We continue to provide leasing advice for the New York Metropolitan area, carrying forward a relationship of more than a decade with this iconic client, dating from Nike's prior New York lease, which was arranged by one of our principals before he joined our firm.

Our Clients:

• Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP
• Day Pitney LLP
• Dewey Leboeuf LLP
• The New York Times
• Nike, Inc
• The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
• The Partnership for a Drug-Free America
• Publicis Groupe
• Ruder Finn, Inc.
• Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
• World Trade Center / Litigation Resulting from 9/11 Attack