Investment Firm Relocating to 18,724 SF

BOSTON-After 15 years at its previous location, a local investment firm will relocate into 18,724 sf of office space at 160 Federal St. The move will give the company almost the entire ninth floor in the Financial District building.

Mimi Cooper, chief financial officer with Independence Investments, tells GlobeSt.com that the company selected the class A, 350,000-sf office building, known as the Landmark, because of the property’s historic significance, its management and the ability to relocate in space that suits the firm’s needs.

“It’s a really pretty old building,” Cooper says of the property, one of Boston’s few remaining Art Deco towers, which has won numerous awards as one of the best office renovation projects in the country. She adds that the building, which was constructed in 1930 and underwent extensive restoration and renovation in 1986, was reflective of Independence’s energy and style and offered the firm a convenient location to meet with clients.

Cooper says the firm will relocate from its present offices at 53 State St. in Boston, where it has been located in about 24,000 sf on the 38th floor for the last 15 years. The move is slated for early December.

Terms of the 10-year lease were not disclosed but Jim Adams, with the Codman Company in Boston, which represented the tenant in the transaction, tells GlobeSt.com that office space in the building generally leases in the mid to high $30-per-sf range. Adams says the relocation will give Independence a more prominent presence in a 83% leased building with amenities that include onsite security, underground parking and easy access to South Station.

The building’s landlord, Taurus Investments, was represented in the transaction by Lawrence Epstein, with Meredith & Grew’s Boston office.