Eaton Vance Intends Relocation To Large One Post Office Square Space From International Place
One of Boston's larger office tenants intends to relocate to the redeveloped One Post Office Square tower in the Financial District, although the employer hasn't finalized its future footprint.
Investment management firm Eaton Vance plans to move into the tower, which is 50% owned by its parent company, Morgan Stanley, a spokeswoman confirmed Friday. Eaton Vance's lease at International Place, the waterfront towers by the Chiofaro Co., is set to expire in 2024.
“We have not finalized how much space we will take, but it will be more than 150K SF,” Colleen Lavery McElhinney, Eaton Vance vice president and director of media relations, said in an email.
The move would signify a major commitment to Boston’s office market as it slowly emerges from a coronavirus pandemic gut punch. The 42-story building, also owned by Anchor Line Partners, is undergoing an extensive renovation by Gensler and is expected to inject 775K SF of new office space into the market next year. JLL is a property manager and tenant at One Post Office Square.
Avison Young Northeast Data Team Lead Elaine Wall confirmed Eaton Vance’s plan Friday, noting “it’s been said that it’s a significant reduction from their current footprint."
The building’s owners didn’t respond to requests for comment Friday.
Eaton Vance was reportedly seeking a new headquarters as early as January 2020 before the pandemic, the Boston Business Journal reported. Its lease at International Place, the two-tower office complex spanning more than 1M SF along the downtown waterfront, is for 340K SF.
One Post Office Square's owners have already secured four tenants that will lease a combined 185K SF, including law firm Sullivan & Worcester, financial services company Appleton Partners, JLL and Citi. The developers haven’t disclosed their financial commitment to the redevelopment, although past reports pin the project's cost as high as $300M.
An Eaton Vance lease, once finalized, would be the first major commitment since the onset of the pandemic at one of Boston’s five most prominent downtown tower projects. Leasing interest at the towers has picked up, researchers told Bisnow last month, and concerns within the Boston office market that the millions of SF of office would deliver vacant have proved unfounded.
Office tenants have shown a willingness to sign massive deals at other spaces. Amazon in January agreed to lease 630K SF in the Seaport, while investment management company Wellington Management signed a 524K SF, 10-year lease extension and expansion at the nearby Atlantic Wharf office.
CORRECTION, NOV. 8, 11:25 A.M. ET: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified JLL as a building owner. JLL is the building's property manager and a tenant. This story has been updated.
