No. 35

Troop Meisinger Lease Deal

The most noteworthy lease transaction of the year was not only the largest on the Westside in excess of $65 million for 140,000 square feet of office space but also the most innovative. It will likely serve as a model for future leases.

The law firm Troop Meisinger Steuber & Pasich LLP used a $650,000 surety bond to secure its lease at the Century Plaza Towers said to be first time a lease has been secured that way. It is actually less risky than the traditional practice of securing leases with a personal guarantee from the tenant.

The deal was further complicated by the fact that an existing tenant, J & H; March & McLennan, was occupying a portion of the space Troop Meisinger wanted. So an alternative location was found for that tenant, and its Century Plaza lease was bought out.

Negotiating the transaction on behalf of Troop Meisinger was Howard Sadowsky of Julien J. Studley Inc., who received the industry’s Summit Award for the most innovative L.A. real estate transaction of 1997.