A major new Midtown lease for Jones Day helped drive demand for Atlanta's Class A office space in the second quarter.

Leasing prices continued to climb for the submarkets most in demand by large law firms, including Midtown, but space availability held relatively stable due to several million square feet of new office construction in the pipeline, according to office market reports.

Midtown was the most active office leasing submarket in the past quarter, accounting for 53.2 percent of large central business district transactions, according to commercial real estate brokerage Savills. The majority of the 4.2 million square feet of Atlanta office space currently under development is also happening in Midtown, according to JLL.

In the second-largest leasing deal in the quarter, Am Law 100 firm Jones Day announced that it is taking 115,000 square feet of the newest building in Midtown's Colony Square redevelopment. The firm has inked a lease with developer North American Properties to occupy an entire six-story building planned for the corner of Peachtree and 15th Streets. Building construction is expected to start in March 2020, and the move-in date is slated for summer 2021.

Jones Day, with about 140 lawyers in Atlanta, has been located at Pershing Park Plaza, further north in Midtown for more than a decade.

Insurance giant Anthem inked the largest leasing deal of the quarter, also in Midtown, for 275,000 square feet in a new tower at 712 West Peachtree Street.

The Savills report said that strong demand pushed up asking rents for Class A space in the central business district by 3.6% year over year to $34.88 per square foot. Rents are highest in Buckhead and Midtown, at $35.32 and $35.20 per square foot, respectively, the Savills 2Q report said. Availability in those submarkets was 16.6% for Buckhead and 17.7% for Midtown.

The Jones Day relocation follows another large law firm leasing deal for Midtown–Atlanta-based Smith Gambrell & Russell's announcement in December that it had signed a deal with Selig Enterprises to anchor a new 31-story tower at 1105 West Peachtree St.

Smith Gambrell will relocate its headquarters from the Promenade building at 1230 Peachtree St., three blocks northeast, with an expected move-in date of mid-2021. The Am Law 200 firm has about 225 lawyers, including 110 in Atlanta. It is taking 102,320 square feet on floors nine through 12 of the West Peachtree tower, currently under construction.

Amenities continue to play a role in new office space deals for large law firms. Jones Day's new space will have a large outdoor terrace overlooking Peachtree Street, plus proximity to a food hall featuring local restaurants and MARTA.

Smith Gambrell will have access to an acre of green space adjacent to the ninth floor at 1105 West Peachtree, along with a rooftop restaurant, bar and pool. In addition to the 600,000-square-foot office tower, the project includes a Marriott Autograph collection hotel and luxury condos.