Downtown Hartford office tower CityPlace I will soon gain Bank of America as a major tenant, HBJ Today has learned.
The bank’s Connecticut headquarters, which currently leases about 200,000 square feet at 777 Main St., or about half that building, will move to CityPlace I.
The terms of the new lease were not immediately available, but bank spokesman T.J. Crawford, said the move will be completed by this time next year. Bank of America’s lease at 777 Main St. is due to expire in March 2011.
The loss of Bank of America as a tenant will mean the 777 Main St. building will be empty.
Crawford said the company will occupy a total of 100,000 square feet in CityPlace I and CityPlace II, cutting its downtown Hartford footprint in half. Merrill Lynch, which is owned by Bank of America, already occupies some space in CityPlace II, he said.
Bank of America also has a full service banking center at City Place I.
Crawford declined to say how many employees would be affected by the move, but it will not result in any job losses. A limited number of positions, however, will be relocated to a few nearby Bank of America facilities, primarily in Glastonbury.
“We considered many alternatives to keep the maximum number of associates downtown,” Crawford said.
The move is another big win for CityPlace I. Last year, UnitedHealth Group announced that it would invest $35 million in renovations to relocate its 2,300 employees from the Connecticut River Plaza, off Columbus Boulevard, to CityPlace.
That move is expected to take place this summer.
