Commonwealth Financial Network's decision to move its regional headquarters to the other side of Waltham, Massachusetts, is a win for the city, the struggling greater Boston commercial office market and the environment.
The 151,765-square-foot lease at 275 Wyman St. represents one of the largest new suburban office deals in the Boston market for 2024. The addition of Commonwealth Financial accounts for more than 50% of the building’s available space. Other notable tenants include ZoomInfo and Vistaprint, according to CoStar data.
A panel of local industry professionals selected Commonwealth Financial Group deal as the winner of the 2025 CoStar Impact Awards for lease of the year for the Boston market.
Commonwealth Financial has had an established presence in Waltham for more three decades. It has been headquartered at 29 Sawyer Road since the late 1990s. The company will take up occupancy at the Wyman Street location in the first quarter of 2026. The firm’s decision to move to 275 Wyman, and to Hobbs Brook Real Estate’s Waltham campus overall, was driven by the desire to continue investing in talent, with this new space serving as a catalyst in fostering innovation, collaboration and a dynamic environment that best serves the independent financial advisors it partners with daily.
"The Commonwealth Financial Network lease was a hugely welcome new lease signing in Waltham," said Impact Award judge Mark Fallon, director of research and strategy at Hunneman. "This commitment to 150,000 square feet of physical floor space for employees, especially in today's current environment, indicates that there is still appetite for large corporate relocations without significant downsizing."
It also illustrates the desire to conduct business in an environmentally friendly building. The property at 275 Wyman is LEED Gold-certified and features a main entrance with a green-roof courtyard, as well as a 4,000-square-foot, full-service cafeteria with a living wall. The building, completed in 2015, "incorporates sustainable design and operations — water efficiency, energy conservation, and environmental impact reduction — that include green materials, a bike room, shuttle service to public transit, and EV charging stations," a spokesperson for Hobbs Brook Real Estate said in an interview.
As of January 2025, 275 Wyman had a 93% occupancy rate, significantly outperforming both the Boston and national averages, according to CoStar data. The region entered 2025 with office vacancy rates reaching a high of 17%, up from 15.1% in 2024, according to a recent Cushman & Wakefield report, with the national office vacancy rate standing at 20.9%. The same report also revealed a shift in leasing trends, with renewals comprising a significantly larger share of deals, 46%, when compared to 2023, at 24%.
The ongoing downshift in demand weighs heavily on the Boston market. Formerly a major driver of office leasing, the life sciences sector remained dormant through 2024, according to CoStar research. The stalwart industries of technology, finance and professional services maintained their holding pattern with few large-block leases signed in 2024. The lack of leasing is compounded by the wave of new completions, a volume of new space not seen in a generation.
About the project: 275 Wyman is part of Hobbs Brook Real Estate’s overall 2.2 million-square-foot,13-building Waltham campus. The five-story, 300,000-square-foot, Class A building includes a five-level, 1,000-plus-car garage, as well as a 7,000-square-foot fitness center and other wellness amenities, including an on-site personal trainer.
What the judges said: "At a time where office vacancy has been increased due to workers at home, this is a substantial suburban lease," said Impact Awards judge David Hark, principal at the Drumlin Group.
Drew Kirkland, senior associate at Northeast Private Client Group, hailed it as a "big win for the city of Waltham." Fellow judge Fallon added "The lease highlights the importance of newly constructed, highly amenitized office space that corporate occupiers are seeking in order to attract and retain talent and ensure they have a happy, productive workforce. Furthermore, it is a testament to how vital the suburban markets are, as Commonwealth undoubtedly had a plethora of options within the city proper, yet they chose to remain a powerhouse in Waltham, surrounding themselves with elite talent and corporate neighbors."
They made it happen: The team from CBRE that pursued the deal on the landlord's behalf included Ron Friedman, executive vice president, Perry Beal, vice president, Elena Ochsenreither, associate, and Sterling Weatherbie, vice president. Drew Nelson, senior managing director at Newmark, represented Commonwealth Financial in the deal.