Crews to renovate upper floors in Axa Tower I for Hancock Estabrook move

SYRACUSE — Crews are preparing to renovate the top three floors in Axa Tower I in downtown Syracuse where Hancock Estabrook, LLP will operate once the work is complete. 

The law firm has signed a 13-year extension of its current lease in the building, Hancock Estabrook recently announced. 

Hancock Estabrook, which currently occupies floors 13 through 15 in AXA Tower I, will move to floors 17 through 19 once crews complete what the firm described in a news release as “extensive” renovations. The law firm declined to disclose the cost of the project. 

CBD Companies, which manages the Axa Towers, will provide construction-management services.

Hancock Estabrook expects the work to begin this month and expects to move to the renovated space near the end of the year, Renee Benda, marketing director at Hancock Estabrook, tells CNYBJ.

“They’re in the final process right now of getting the building permit from the City [of Syracuse], so we’re hoping that the demolition is going to start within a few weeks [in June],” says Janet Callahan, managing partner at Hancock Estabrook, who spoke with CNYBJ on May 31. 

Callahan notes that part of the firm’s intent renovating its space is to “attract and retain” younger attorneys. “It’s a reflection of the way they want their work space to be,” she says.

The new office will have 36,000 square feet of space with features that King + King Architects designed, Hancock Estabrook said. The design incorporates “open, collaborative” spaces, natural interior light, and video conferencing and training facilities.

Rochester–based Bergmann, which operates an office in Syracuse, consulted on the mechanical design of the space.

Deciding on space

Hancock Estabrook’s lease with AmTrust Realty Corp. was set to expire at the end of 2018, says Callahan. New York City–based AmTrust Realty Corp. owns the Axa Towers.

Hancock Estabrook in 2016 started looking at other available space and considering whether it should stay in the city or move out of the downtown area. The law firm looked at five other sites, which Callahan declined to name.

The firm’s employees also completed a survey to “take their pulse” on what they preferred in a space and location.

CBD Companies proposed the idea of moving within the building. The other alternative would have been for Hancock Estabrook to remain in the firm’s current location and renovate one floor at a time, moving employees during the renovation work, and then moving them back to their respective floor. 

“We decided this option, moving the whole office up to three higher floors after the whole renovation project is completed, would be much less disruptive,” says Callahan.

Law offices getting less formal

Hancock Estabrook recognizes that the “nature of law firms is changing,” Callahan says. She notes that law offices nowadays are designed so that offices are the same size and constructed to get people out of their offices and into “collaborative spaces where people can work together and share ideas.”

“Law offices now are less formal than they used to be,” Callahan says. 

The new Hancock Estabrook space will include design elements that are “intended to create comfortable and collaborative” spaces for the firm’s 57 attorneys and 56 staff members.

The elements include a two-floor, open reception area with a “panoramic” view of downtown Syracuse and a media room that will accommodate large groups and seminars and small-seating areas for informal meetings. 

The newly designed office will also have “built-in, stand-up” work spaces for administrative staff and a break room with kitchen facilities and charging stations for laptops.

SYRACUSE — Crews are preparing to renovate the top three floors in Axa Tower I in downtown Syracuse where Hancock Estabrook, LLP will operate once the work is complete. 

The law firm has signed a 13-year extension of its current lease in the building, Hancock Estabrook recently announced. 

Hancock Estabrook, which currently occupies floors 13 through 15 in AXA Tower I, will move to floors 17 through 19 once crews complete what the firm described in a news release as “extensive” renovations. The law firm declined to disclose the cost of the project. 

CBD Companies, which manages the Axa Towers, will provide construction-management services.

Hancock Estabrook expects the work to begin this month and expects to move to the renovated space near the end of the year, Renee Benda, marketing director at Hancock Estabrook, tells CNYBJ.

“They’re in the final process right now of getting the building permit from the City [of Syracuse], so we’re hoping that the demolition is going to start within a few weeks [in June],” says Janet Callahan, managing partner at Hancock Estabrook, who spoke with CNYBJ on May 31. 

Callahan notes that part of the firm’s intent renovating its space is to “attract and retain” younger attorneys. “It’s a reflection of the way they want their work space to be,” she says.

The new office will have 36,000 square feet of space with features that King + King Architects designed, Hancock Estabrook said. The design incorporates “open, collaborative” spaces, natural interior light, and video conferencing and training facilities.

Rochester–based Bergmann, which operates an office in Syracuse, consulted on the mechanical design of the space.

Deciding on space

Hancock Estabrook’s lease with AmTrust Realty Corp. was set to expire at the end of 2018, says Callahan. New York City–based AmTrust Realty Corp. owns the Axa Towers.

Hancock Estabrook in 2016 started looking at other available space and considering whether it should stay in the city or move out of the downtown area. The law firm looked at five other sites, which Callahan declined to name.

The firm’s employees also completed a survey to “take their pulse” on what they preferred in a space and location.

CBD Companies proposed the idea of moving within the building. The other alternative would have been for Hancock Estabrook to remain in the firm’s current location and renovate one floor at a time, moving employees during the renovation work, and then moving them back to their respective floor. 

“We decided this option, moving the whole office up to three higher floors after the whole renovation project is completed, would be much less disruptive,” says Callahan.

Law offices getting less formal

Hancock Estabrook recognizes that the “nature of law firms is changing,” Callahan says. She notes that law offices nowadays are designed so that offices are the same size and constructed to get people out of their offices and into “collaborative spaces where people can work together and share ideas.”

“Law offices now are less formal than they used to be,” Callahan says. 

The new Hancock Estabrook space will include design elements that are “intended to create comfortable and collaborative” spaces for the firm’s 57 attorneys and 56 staff members.

The elements include a two-floor, open reception area with a “panoramic” view of downtown Syracuse and a media room that will accommodate large groups and seminars and small-seating areas for informal meetings. 

The newly designed office will also have “built-in, stand-up” work spaces for administrative staff and a break room with kitchen facilities and charging stations for laptops.