Back Bay Tower Under Development Nearly Fully Leased

BOSTON-The 36-story office tower Boston Properties Inc. is building here in the Back Bay behind the Prudential Center is 85% leased and the company expects more commitments within the next two weeks. The building, located at 111 Huntington Ave., still has ten months till its projected opening.

The locally-based REIT had initially estimated that the building would be 75% leased at its opening but the company’s senior vice president Claude Hoops, who did not return calls by press time, has said publicly that the building should be at 100% occupancy by then.

Recent leases include Atlas Venture, BTM Corp, a subsidiary of the Bank of Tokyo, Epstien Becker & Green PC’s Boston law offices and Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP’s Boston law offices. Boston Properties is moving its corporate and regional headquarters into the second and third floors of the building taking 78,000 sf of space.

Lease rates for the building have also defied expectations. When leasing for the building began, a little over a year ago, rates were in the $40 to $50 per sf range. Asking prices now range from the mid-$60s to the mid-$80s per sf, nearly matching the rates for the Downtown area.