The law firm of Pender & Coward has announced plans to expand its Suffolk office to 117 Market St., in downtown.

The company will receive a $32,000 grant from the Suffolk Economic Development Authority to help with renovations for the expansion.

The firm will expand into 5,300 square feet of renovated space and create three new jobs with the move. Company officials expect to be fully operational at the new location in the spring, according to a city announcement of the $250,000 expansion and the Economic Development Investment Program grant that will help support it.

“It was important for us to stay downtown, near the courthouse and the new municipal center, and we are very excited for this new opportunity,” Pender & Coward CEO Richard H. Matthews stated in the press release.

Founded in 1889, Pender & Coward is a full-service law firm serving all of Hampton Roads. It employs more than 30 attorneys and has offices in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, as well as Suffolk.

“Pender & Coward has been operating in Suffolk since 2005,” Mayor Linda T. Johnson stated. “We are pleased to see their continued growth and success in our Downtown Business District.”