The Irvine Company has landed its largest tenant yet for the new 520 Newport Center office tower next to Fashion Island.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch just finalized a deal to lease five floors at the glitzy Newport Beach office, according to the Irvine Co., the 21-story building’s owner and developer.
The financial services company, which serves as the corporate and investment banking division of Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp., will lease about 88,000 square feet.
It’s the largest office lease in Orange County in the past six months, not counting renewals, according to brokerage data.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch will consolidate operations from other area buildings primarily in Irvine to the new location, according to sources familiar with the lease.
The deal also allows for some space for expansion, the sources said.
Employees with Bank of America’s global banking and private banking groups are also expected to occupy some of the space that Bank of America Merrill Lynch is leasing at the tower, sources close to the deal say.
Footprint
The lease brings the bank’s footprint in Newport Center’s high-end office market to nearly 130,000 square feet. It also has a sizeable presence at the neighboring 500 Newport Center Drive building.
Bank of America’s existing operations at the nine-story 500 Newport Center office, which include a retail branch, will be unaffected by the new deal, according to the Irvine Co., which also owns that building.
The 520 Newport Center tower, which is next to Irvine Co.’s headquarters, opened late last year as the first big speculative office to open in OC since the recent recession.
The 331,000-square-foot building commands some of the priciest rents in the county, with monthly rates reported to be in excess of $5 per square foot.
Hub
The lease increased occupancy at the building from about 50% to 75%.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch will take space at three of the top floors.
The tower is quickly growing into a hub for well-heeled wealth managers, financial advisers and other banking services companies.
Other notable tenants at the building include Wells Fargo Advisors; Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.; and Janus Capital Group Inc.
Hong Kong-based Wing Lung Bank, a subsidiary of China Merchants Bank, confirmed this month that it will set up its U.S. headquarters at the building.
Irvine Co., which owns a bulk of the buildings in Newport Center, said the latest deal underscores the seaside corporate hub’s standing as Orange County’s international banking and investment headquarters.
Companies Nearby
Other banking and investment companies with office space within a few blocks of 520 Newport Center include Pacific Investment Management Co. and its parent company, Allianz SE, as well as Oppenheimer & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Northern Trust Corp.
Pimco opened its own new office, a 20-story tower at 650 Newport Center Drive, early last year.
About 40% of Newport Center’s 2.5 million square feet of office space is leased to companies providing financial services, according to the Irvine Co.
