Honigman leases new offices in Downtown Kalamazoo offices slated to open Fall 2009

Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP (Honigman) announced today that it has agreed to lease approximately 10,000 square feet in the Columbia Plaza building located at 350 East Michigan Avenue in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Since opening its Kalamazoo office in October 2008 with seven attorneys, five professional staff members and two administrative staff members, it has expanded to 11 attorneys, six professional and eight administrative staff members. This nearly 80 percent increase in the firm’s staffing has caused it to outgrow its current location at 444 West Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo. Honigman will occupy the third floor of the Columbia Plaza, which will be renovated for a Fall 2009 move-in date. The firm will also have the option to expand to the building’s 4th floor.

Celebrating its 60th year, Honigman is a leading Michigan-based business law firm with an international practice. Headquartered in Detroit, with offices in Lansing, Oakland County, Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, the firm’s attorneys practice in more than 40 different areas of concentration. The firm’s Kalamazoo attorneys concentrate their practices in Life Sciences, Intellectual Property and Technology, Venture Capital, Corporate Law and Community Banking.

“We are extremely pleased to be relocating to Columbia Plaza,” said Phillip D. Torrence, Honigman’s Kalamazoo Office Managing Partner. “It is well located in Kalamazoo’s downtown, and it is exceptionally well-apportioned to meet our current needs, as well as support the firm’s growth in this region. In addition, several of our life science and intellectual property clients are located in the building, which will provide for greater collaboration.”

“We are delighted to welcome Honigman to Columbia Plaza and thank them for their commitment to downtown Kalamazoo,” said Mac Waldorf, Managing Partner, Columbia 12, LLC. “There is tremendous synergy between Honigman and our current tenant base and we look forward to developing a great working relationship with the firm and to being a part of its future growth.”

The Columbia Plaza building is owned by Columbia 12, LLC and is home to many of the region’s leading life science and medical device companies, including the Apjohn Group, LLC, which is one of its major tenants. Built in the late 1890s, it was originally the Columbia Hotel, which over the years prospered and grew with several wing additions. In 1985, the hotel underwent three years of extensive renovations before it re-opened as an office building in 1988.