Good news emerged from what’s been a dreadful year in the Denver office market: New downtown skyscraper Block 162 signed its first tenant with longtime Denver law firm Sherman & Howard.

The 30-story building’s developers, Patrinely Group of Houston and USAA Real Estate, announced the deal Friday.

The Denver-based firm will be taking floors 23 and 24 of Block 162, about 60,000 square feet. It’s at 675 15th St., between California and Welton streets.

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“Announcing Block 162 as Sherman & Howard’s new headquarters is the first step in bringing our vision of the future of the firm to life,” CEO Greg Densen said in a release.

That future will include “a modern day-to-day work experience through multifunctional workspaces equipped with expansive views of downtown, an abundance of natural light, and state-of-the-art technology,” according to Densen’s statement.

There are about 230 Denver-based firm employees.

Patrinely Group officials declared the deal the “largest new office lease signed in downtown Denver over the past 12 months.”

“Sherman & Howard’s move to Block 162 is a validation of our strategy to build the region’s premier office building,” said Vice President David Haltom of Patrinely’s Rocky Mountain Region in a statement.

Haltrom cited the new building’s sustainability and energy-efficient features, “best-in-class” HVAC and “first-class indoor/outdoor amenities and access to light and air to take advantage of Denver’s great climate.”

There was only 4.4 million square feet of office space leasing activity in 2020 — the lowest activity level in 20 years, according to Savills Q4 report.

That’s a 49% drop from 2019’s leasing activity level of 8.6 million square feet.

Savills’ Richard Schuham and Greg Bante represented Sherman & Howard.

Block 162 is expected to be opened in April and is “available for tenants immediately,” according to the release.

It will have office space on floors 11-30, with three retail spaces available on the ground floor. It will have three levels of underground parking, and 10 additional floors of “above-grade podium garage” spaces. Developers expect it to be certified LEED Gold Core and Shell for its energy efficiency designs.

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Patrinely officials said the building has “COVID-19 response features.”

“We have created an amenity-rich environment with large, light-filled floor plates and tall ceiling heights, along with generous parking and sweeping Front Range views,” Patrinely CEO Robert Fields said in a statement.

Patrinely was represented by Cushman & Wakefield’s Doug Wulf and Todd Wheeler, with Dennis Tarro of Patrinely Group.