Leasing
Benesch's Real Estate Practice Group negotiates, structures and documents commercial leases nationwide for owners, developers, tenants, lenders and other stakeholders across a wide range of asset types, including office, industrial, retail, mixed use, multifamily, life sciences and specialty facilities. Our team handles everything from single-asset leasing to multistate leasing programs involving hundreds of properties.
We guide clients through every phase of the leasing process—letter of intent, design requirements, construction and delivery obligations, operating covenants, co-tenancy rights, exclusives, assignment and subletting, casualty and condemnation, guaranties and credit support. We also develop and refine lease forms, playbooks and workflow processes to help clients scale and manage national leasing portfolios efficiently.
Our practice negotiates build-to-suit, ground, anchor, in-line, headquarters, logistics, warehouse and corporate campus leases across major U.S. markets. We regularly advise institutional landlords and public REITs, as well as Fortune 500 tenants and fast-growth companies, on complex occupancy strategies and portfolio optimization. We are equally equipped to navigate specialized facility needs including food-grade, cGMP, R&D, clean room, manufacturing and high-bay distribution uses.
For clients facing rapid growth or changing real estate requirements, we help structure expansion, consolidation, subleasing, early termination and relocation strategies that protect operational continuity while maintaining long-term flexibility.
Experience
- Represented a pharmaceutical company in the lease of a 154,000 sf integrated biotechnology campus in San Francisco, CA.
- Represented the owner of an industrial facility in Ohio in the negotiation of a warehouse lease with a large national retailer during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.
- Build-to-suit lease for the construction and leasing of a 79,000 square foot specialized manufacturing facility for a Fortune 500 subsidiary corporation (represented the tenant).
- Lease for 125,000 square foot warehouse with specialized racking and sprinkler requirements for tire wholesaler/distributor (represented the tenant).
- 200,000 square foot build-to-suit expansion of existing warehouse (with food grade specifications), expanding to a total of 500,000 square feet for a food distributor (represented the tenant).
- Lease for 135,000 square foot warehouse with specialized racking and sprinkler requirements for tire wholesaler/distributor (represented the tenant).
- Represented a Fortune 500 NYSE company in a 52,000 square foot build-to-suit addition to an existing distribution facility, including acquisition of adjoining property to be improved by landlord and added to the leased facility for transportation and logistics (represented the tenant).
- Corporate headquarters office lease of over 33,000 square feet (represented the tenant).
- Represented an international technology company in negotiating corporate headquarters office lease of 45,000 square feet and subsequent expansions to accommodate accelerated company growth (represented the tenant).
- Sublease and Recognition Agreement for a 211,000 square foot warehouse facility (represented the subtenant).
- Build-to-suit lease for the expansion of a manufacturing and warehouse facility on an absolute triple-net basis guaranteed by a Fortune 500 NYSE company (represented the landlord).
- Build-to-suit lease for 145,000 square foot manufacturing plant for a private equity-owned aerospace company with a tenant capital contribution of $3.6 Million (represented the tenant).
- Represented the landlord in the lease of a 13,000+ sf office space.
- Negotiated the sale-leaseback of an 180,000 square foot office/warehouse facility.
- Represented a non-profit LLC in the negotiation of a long-term ground lease for a synagogue.
- Represented a seller/tenant in a $15.1 million sale leaseback of an office and warehouse facility in Nevada.
- Represented a tenant in the leasing of property in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio to be extensively renovated and used as a hostel, the only one of its kind in Northeast Ohio.
- Represented an advertising company in digital sign and wallscape lease agreements nationwide.
- Represented a large national tenant in the negotiation of a 140,000 square foot warehouse lease.
- Represented a publicly-held REIT in various retail leasing matters, including anchor tenant leases, in-line tenant leases, ground leases, relocation and expansion agreements and lease assignments.
- Represented private post-secondary educational institution in long term lease agreements located in class A office buildings nationwide.
- Negotiated leases for national tenants for retail, restaurant, office and industrial uses in both free standing and in-line projects.
- Represented national developer in multi-phase big box retail development containing over 1,000,000 square feet.
- Negotiated leases for real estate developers with "big box" tenants, national chains, and local and small tenants.
- Represented large regional developers in connection with leasing of in-line spaces and stand-alone stores at regional lifestyle centers and shopping centers.
