Law Firm Sheds Brickell Office For Smaller Downtown Miami Space
After two decades in Brickell, law firm Fowler White Burnett has decamped for a more affordable office.
The law firm inked a deal for 20K SF at Citigroup Center in Downtown Miami — a significant downsizing from the 35K SF it had for 20 years at the Brickell Arch office building, Bisnow has learned.
The company made the move to the 20th floor of the skyscraper at 201 S. Biscayne Blvd. official last month, switching offices amid soaring rents in Brickell and evolving company needs, Fowler White managing shareholder Richard Wood said in a phone interview Wednesday.
“We were really looking for more efficient floor plates, and we were looking to consolidate our multiple-floor format into a larger single footprint that would allow us to all be in the same area, on the same floor,” Wood said. “There's also, partially, market conditions are changing along Brickell.”
Wood, who specializes in real estate, was in charge of the company’s move when its lease at Brickell Arch — a 36-story mixed-use building with office, retail, hotel rooms and condos at 1395 Brickell Ave. — expired in February.
The firm first moved to the building in 2005 and renewed its lease in 2015, but when the option came to renew again, Brickell was a completely different office market.
Renewing the firm's lease would have tripled its rent, Wood said.
Between 2020 and 2025, Miami’s office rents had surged more than 50%, according to a 2025 first-quarter Savills report. But even that increase pales in comparison to the astronomical rise of Brickell office space.
In the middle of 2019, top-tier Brickell office space was asking for $58.72 per SF, according to a Blanca Commercial Real Estate report at the time. Many Class-A buildings in the area are now asking for more than $100 per SF.
While Wood declined to comment on the terms of the lease at Citigroup Center, he said it was less than the company's rent in Brickell.
Beyond cheaper rates, Fowler White had begun considering moving out of the space to find a more suitable layout. It surveyed Coral Gables, Blue Lagoon, Aventura, Downtown Miami and other areas in Brickell before settling on Citigroup Center.
“It’s a Class-A building that is incredibly well-maintained with significant amenities,” Wood said. “Its location provides public transportation [and] connectivity with the Brightline and Metrorail to our Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach offices.”
The company moved into a temporary space within Citigroup Center in March as it waited for its permanent space in the 34-story, 832K SF office tower to be built.
Despite downsizing its office, the company plans to expand on its headcount of 34 lawyers in the Miami office this year. Wood said the floor format allows more lawyers to operate within the space than the previous office.
“[We] can house more people in a smaller space in this building than we could have done in our other building because of the configuration and the shape of the building itself,” he said.
Fowler White will join tenants like Citibank and Regus at the tower, which is the second-largest Class-A office building in Florida, according to landlord CP Group.
JLL’s Steven Hurwitz and Douglas Okun handle leasing at the property on behalf of CP Group. Hurwitz declined to comment. CBRE's Grant Killingsworth represented Fowler White.
Boca Raton-based CP Group purchased the building, which was built in 1983, for $115M in 2000, according to public records.
Fowler White's deal came amid a resurgent year for the Miami office market. Tenants signed 5M SF of office leases in 2025, up 36% from 2024, according to Savills.
CORRECTION, JAN. 7, 7:25 P.M. ET: A spokesperson clarified that 34 lawyers work within the firm's Miami office, not 29, as the firm previously stated. The story has been updated.
