| 
Before committing to a new headquarters at 100 Federal St. in Boston, Putnam Investments cast a wide net in its real estate search.
With an expiring lease at One Post Office Square, its home since 1982, the $175 billion money management firm looked at more than 20 properties, including some in the Seaport District and Cambridge, before leasing 250,000 square feet on 11 floors at 100 Federal St. for 15 years.
CEO Robert Reynolds said the move to another office tower just a block away made sense given the cluster of investment firms in the Financial District, enabling out-of-town clients to schedule meetings with multiple companies on the same day.
“Quite frankly, we’ve always been enamored with this building,” Reynolds said during a tour of the offices Thursday. “It’s always been the building everyone knows in the Financial District. They call it the ‘pregnant building.’ I don’t like that, but as we did the search we narrowed it down to four or five (buildings) including our existing space.”
Potential disruption associated with a $300 million addition and renovation to One Post Office Square beginning in early 2019 – including installation of a new glass facade – factored into Putnam’s decision to look elsewhere, Reynolds said.
Putnam’s new home recently got some major upgrades of its own, as landlord Boston Properties built a 2-story glass-enclosed “Winter Garden” atrium at the former Congress Street driveway area.
Boston Properties reconfigured space in the 37-story tower, which includes office space for Bank of America and Wellington Management, to enable Putnam to have a big block of contiguous space with connecting stairways.
Putnam has a high-profile presence in the 1971 Art Moderne tower, including a separate entrance, dedicated elevators and electronic signboard facing Post Office Square. A larger TV studio will be configured to host panel discussions, and a ground-floor auditorium has capacity for 150 people. Gensler is the interior architect.
Like many companies, Putnam is increasing open workspace configurations. Approximately 80 percent of the new space is open offices, compared with 60 percent at One Post Office Square, said Kevin Lemire, Putnam’s head of real estate and general services. Many of the private offices – offering views of Back Bay and the Financial District – were converted into small meeting rooms.
Executives have already been using the 100 Federal St. offices for board and client meetings in recent weeks. Approximately 800 employees will begin the move in late September, with the transition expected to be complete by Oct. 31.
