Who's Responsible for Restoring Office Space to Original Condition at Lease’s End?

What Happened: The landlord and tenant performed a massive buildout to make the more than 100,000 square feet of office space leased suitable for a financial services firm with “immense computing power” and infrastructure needs. Once the 15-year lease expired, the question arose of who was responsible for restoring the space to its original condition. Citing lease language giving the landlord ownership over the improvements, the tenant asked the court for judgment declaring that it wasn’t on the hook for restoration.