John Hancock Tower, the tallest tower in New England, Boston since its 1976 completion, will change its name to 200 Clarendon, according to a report from Curbed. The article cited that the financial services firm that built the 62-story glass building is no longer a tenant.
An article from The Boston Globe mentioned that the Boston Properties Inc., owner and the company who paid $930 million for the property, can no longer use the financial services company's name on the building.
Boston Properties president Doug Linde said, "We're not allowed to call it that any longer."
Moreover, the article reported that the former name of the building was tied to John Hancock's tenancy in 2006 and when Hancock sold it, then-chief executive David D' Alessandro wrote in the contract that the name should be changed. However, the name of the tower is subjected to change if the company will stay in the tower.
"It had to have John Hancock occupancy to have that name. There was a trigger in the lease," said Justin Krebs, a former partner at Normandy Real Estate Partners and owned the building before Boston Properties.
The article from The Boston Globe added that the new name followed the street address of the tower. The article added that the low-rise portion of the Hancock has been rebranded as 120 St. James as part of a bid to lure tech tenants.
Regardless of the new name, Doug Linde and other company officials kept on calling the Hancock Tower during a conference call last July 30, as reported from Portland Press Herald. The article added that the lease for the building was expired earlier in the year.
In an article from Boston Herald, John Hancock sold the tower and two nearby buildings in 2003 to Beacon Capital Partners in a $910 million deal and leased back its headquarters space. The article added that the Boston Properties bought the tower in 2010.
As the article from The Boston Globe reported, John Hancock officials did not have any response or reaction regarding the news.