Pete Reid Law recently completed a successful lease renewal negotiation on behalf of a long term South Congress business.

South Congress remains a must-stroll location for visitors and a popular hangout for Austin residents. However, in recent years the boutique stores and local businesses that give the street its character have come under threat from national retail chains and rising rents.

One such local business had been operating on South Congress since 2001 under a very simple lease, and with a below-market rent. With the original lease expiring in 2017, the local business sought to invoke an ambiguously  drafted option to renew the lease for an additional three-year period. However, the new out-of-state owners of the building proposed a new rent at more than 300% of the existing rent.

Knowing that such a proposal was unworkable, the business owner retained Pete Reid Law to work its magic and negotiate a workable lease renewal on her behalf.

Over a six-month period and through negotiations with several different attorneys and property agents, a three-year lease extension was agreed with a modest rent increase of less than 50% on the prior period.

With rents on South Congress now being offered at more than 100 per square foot, this lease renewal ensured that the local business would be able to operate and remain viable for years to come.

Pete Reid Law, PLLC: Global Experience. Local Knowledge.