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The occupancy rate at the historic Morgan Building in downtown Portland climbed last month to approach the average for the Portland Central Business District.

During the month of May, Urban Renaissance Group, the Seattle-based commercial real estate firm that owns the building, completed eight leases totaling more than 42,000 square feet, 14,100-square-feet of which is newly leased space.

The new leases and existing tenant expansions brought the occupancy rate from 75 percent to 85 percent. The average occupancy rate in the Portland CBD, where the Morgan Building is located, is 88 percent.

The building, located at 720 S.W. Washington St., is an eight story office building originally constructed in 1912. There is a total of 143,576 square feet of leasable space in the building, with retail space on the ground floor and office space on the additional seven floors. Urban Renaissance Group purchased the building for $27.5 million in 2008.

Kim Fuller, general manager for Urban Renaissance Group’s Portland office, believes the increase for demand at the Morgan Building is due to the firm’s focus of sustainable management and the building’s proximity to public transit. There has been a growing demand for accessible spaces in the Central Business District, she said.

New leases include 7,063 square feet being leased by Carollo Engineers, an environmental engineering firm based in Walnut Creek, Calif., and 875 square feet being leased by McMillen, a Boise-based engineering firm.

The Cadmus Group, a Boston-based consulting firm, renewed its 18,039-square-foot lease and leased an additional 5,456 square feet. Also expanding their leases were the Seattle-based law firm, Scheer & Zehnder, and Portland’s Grantmakers for Education.

Kearns & West, a West Coast strategic communications firm, and the Portland-based investment advisers, Lateef Management renewed their existing leases. Documart, a printing services company, also renewed its 1,058-square-foot retail lease on the bottom floor of the Morgan Building.