Amazon’s search for a permanent office flagship in Boston appears to be nearing an end at Synergy Investments’ 253 Summer St.
The e-commerce giant has committed to approximately 150,000 square feet in the 192,000-square-foot office building at the gateway to Fort Point, according to The Real Reporter.
Amazon earlier this year moved into temporary space at WeWork’s 31 St. James Ave. complex in Back Bay while it scouted properties for up to 200,000 square feet long-term.
The new location is expected to complement Amazon’s Kendall Square offices in Cambridge’s Kendall Square, where Amazon first leased 105,000 square feet at 101 Main St. in 2012 and now occupies 171,000 square feet.
Amazon’s real estate strategy reflects minuscule vacancies and the region’s highest rents in East Cambridge, prompting tech companies to consider growing job clusters in neighborhoods such as Fort Point, Downtown Crossing and the Fenway.
“The traditional tech companies that used to be in Kendall Square are starting to wonder if this is where they need to be or if this is becoming a life science market, and Amazon is a great example,” said Aaron Jodka, director of research at Colliers International Boston. “They looked to Boston and the heart of the Seaport which seems to be more of a fit for today’s tech innovation.”
Amazon’s arrival accelerates the growth of the tech industry in the former warehouses converted into brick-and-beam office buildings across Fort Point Channel from downtown Boston.
LogMeIn expanded into 117,000 square feet at 327-335 Summer St. in 2015. General Electric plans a substantial tech component at its new headquarters, which recently broke ground on Necco Way, and software developer Red Hat last fall leased 40,000 square feet at 300 A St.