Houghton Mifflin to Relocate HQ to Financial District

BOSTON—Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will be relocating its headquarters operations to 162,000 square feet of leased space at Tishman Speyer's 125 High St. office tower here.

The global learning company and provider of pre-K–12 education content will be moving its corporate headquarters functions from the Back Bay at 222 Berkeley St. to the 125 High St. office building. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt signed a 16-year lease and will take over floors five through eight once it takes occupancy of its new space in early 2017. Gil Dailey of Cushman & Wakefield represented Houghton Mifflin in the transaction.

“We are seeing lots of positive leasing activity in the Financial District submarket, which is steadily becoming a destination for technology, media, advertising and information (TAMI) tenants, as well as professional, legal and financial services firms,” says Tishman Speyer managing director Samuel Schaefer. “This transaction further demonstrates the diversification of the Financial District, as well as the strength of Boston's local economy.”

125 High St. is a three-building, 1.5-million square-foot development that covers a full city block bounded by High, Oliver, Purchase and Pearl streets. It includes three structures: the Oliver Street Tower, the High Street Tower and 131 Oliver St and covers 2.5 acres. The property features an 11-story glass atrium, which offers views of downtown Boston and the harbor, as well as a 766-space underground parking garage. The complex has direct access to 25 acres of public gardens along the Rose Kennedy Greenway created by the Big Dig project and is situated near Interstate 93, the Massachusetts Turnpike and South Station. 125 High St. recently achieved LEED Gold for existing buildings certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system.

On May 29 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced today it had completed the acquisition of the Educational Technology and Services business of Scholastic Corp. of New York City for $575 million in cash. HMH operates out of 20 offices across the United States as well as in six international locations.