JPMorgan Signs Lease Sans Tax Agreement

BOSTON-Taking a leap of faith that the Boston City Council will rubberstamp a tax incentive package, championed by Mayor Thomas Menino, JPMorgan Chase has finalized a lease at Seaport Center for nearly 105,000 sf, with the global funds services operation slated to relocate from 73 Tremont St. in the Financial District by year’s end. Some sources say the company has options to fill 150,000 sf at the property, a 458,000-sf office building in Boston’s Seaport District.

“It’s exciting,” JP Morgan Chase spokeswoman Pamela Snook says of the deal, an agreement that the financial services firm has been working on for several months, as first reported by GlobeSt.com. Snook could not provide details about terms, but confirms the company is moving ahead, even before receiving council approval on a tax break that could amount to $2 million over the 15 years the lease runs. “Obviously, we are hoping that we get approval,” she says, but the spokeswoman indicates JPMorgan Chase has no recourse should the pact be voted down. “It’s official,” Snook says of the lease with the building’s landlords, the Beal Cos. and Rockpoint Group LLC.

About 300 employees will relocate from 73 Tremont St., with a separate group remaining in place at nearby One Beacon St., where sources predict the firm could also increase its footprint. A separate state tax credit could save the firm another $2 million for moving to an ostensibly blighted area eligible for such incentives.