After spending months looking for a potential new home in Connecticut, Lincoln Financial Group has settled on some familiar surroundings in Hartford.
The Pennsylvania-based financial services company has renewed its lease for 190,000 square feet of office space in downtown Hartford’s Metro Center, officials have confirmed to the Hartford Business Journal.
The five year deal represents a win for the city as it is able to retain a major employer at least through 2018.
“After careful evaluation, we determined that the Metro Center best serves the needs for Lincoln and its employees,” said Jay Russo, a Lincoln Financial spokesman. “The quality of the building, its downtown location, and many amenities, including the attached parking garage, on-site café and gym provide convenience for our employees and a comfortable working atmosphere.”
Russo declined to provide the financial terms of the lease, other than saying it is a five year deal. He also said the renewal represents the company’s continued commitment to the city.
Lincoln Financial came to downtown Hartford 14 years ago after the company bought its life insurance business from Cigna Corp. Originally, that business resided in Bloomfield, but Lincoln moved those operations to Hartford’s Metro Center in 1998.
Lincoln’s decision to come to Hartford was met with great fanfare by city and state leaders at the time.
The company occupies more than 60 percent of Metro Center, whose other main tenant includes the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, which takes up about 40,000 square feet of space, while about 52,000 square feet remains vacant.
Separately, Lincoln announced that John Rhodes has been named chief risk officer, effective immediately.
Rhodes, 40, joined Lincoln Financial in 2009 as the head of Equity Risk Management. He will continue to serve in that role, and his promotion to chief risk officer reflects the strategic combination of the company’s variable annuity hedging and enterprise risk management programs.
Prior to joining Lincoln Financial, Rhodes served as vice president and head of hedging operations for ING U.S., which is based in Windsor.
