In what would be another in a recent string of bright spots for downtown Boston’s beleaguered office market, JPMorgan Chase & Co. is close to leasing around 250,000 square feet of office space at the newly built tower above South Station, the Globe has learned.
The financial services behemoth will be consolidating some local offices, including its wealth management office at 50 Rowes Wharf, into the 51-story skyscraper, according to four real estate industry sources speaking on condition of anonymity.
“They want to make a big splash,” one industry source said.
It’s not a done offer yet; JPMorgan has not yet signed a lease, and it’s unclear when a move would be scheduled. Representatives from the bank and Hines, the developer and owner of the South Station tower, declined to comment.
With a temporary certificate of occupancy in hand, the South Station tower celebrated its opening last week. The tower’s bottom half is dedicated to office space, while the upper 16 floors are home to 166 Ritz-Carlton-branded condominiums.
The JPMorgan lease is a big win for Hines and its $1.5 billion project, which, up until today, had struggled to land a large anchor tenant. The three office leases announced at the tower so far — for insurer FM, law firm JonesDay, and financial firm Citadel — together will occupy just over 100,000 square feet. The tower has 680,000 square feet of office space in total.
The move is also another boost to the downtown office market, which has struggled with record-high vacancy since many companies embraced a hybrid work environment during the pandemic. It follows private equity firm KKR leasing 132,529 square feet at 2 International Place, where it will move from Brighton next year, and toymaker Hasbro announcing it would move its headquarters from Rhode Island to the Seaport by the end of 2026.
Beyond Rowes Wharf, JPMorgan occupies offices at 451 D St., 160 Federal St., and One Liberty Square. It’s not immediately clear which of these facilities will move to South Station. The 125,000-square-foot office at 160 Fed office is a former First Republic Bank space that JPMorgan took over after acquiring most of the failed bank’s assets in 2023. The One Liberty Square office is less than 10,000 square feet and has been home to investment technology company 55ip, which JPMorgan Asset Management took over in late 2020.
JPMorgan in August opened a $3 billion headquarters at 270 Park Ave. in Manhattan, a 60-story tower that will eventually house 10,000 workers, the Wall Street Journal reported in August.
Catherine Carlock can be reached at catherine.carlock@globe.com. Follow her @bycathcarlock.
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