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THIS PAST SUMMER, Quick & Reilly leased an additional 20,000 square feet of office space-nearly two-thirds of a floor--at 26 Broadway.
The move increased the discount brokerage firm's total space in the building to 70,000 square feet. "We've taken it purely to accommodate increased volume," says Leslie Quick III, president of the U.S. Clearing division of Quick & Reilly Inc. "When we moved into the space four years ago, we designed it with 25% expansion space.
The brokerage firm has not been alone in growing beyond its own expectations. With the Dow at around 6000 and the bull market chugging along, many brokers, money managers and business information concerns have decided to expand or take new space in recent months. Their goal: to find space capable of meeting the distinctive needs of both the people and the computers that drive their businesses.
Of the 50 largest commercial leases compiled by Re/Locate through August, 20 were inked by financial services firms. "A lot of the firms have waited (to move or expand) because they didn't think the growth would be sustained over a longer period of time," observes Mike Burgio, senior director at Cushman & Wakefield Inc.
But some real estate experts believe there is more reshuffling and consolidation than...