In the largest office space transaction in 2023, Bank of America (BofA) has leased 1.1 million sq ft office space in Chennai, one of its largest captive centres outside the US.The newly leased property at DLF Downtown, Taramani is being leased for its back office operation in India. “The property is in the fitout phase now and the company is expected to start operation from Q2 2024 for the first phase,” said two people aware of the development.
In the first phase, the company will occupy around 710,000 sq ft, while the remaining 390,000 sq ft in part of the second phase expansion option by the multinational bank, as per the registered document. As per the industry estimates, the property can seat 7,000-8,000 employees.
“DLF Downtown phase one is fully committed and is under fitout for many clients. The project is commanding a rent of over ₹100 per sqft,” said one of the persons quoted above.
DLF Downtown, Taramani, spread over 27 acres, is a joint venture between the developer’s rental business arm DCCDL and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO).
A detailed email sent to BofA did not elicit any response till press time.
Of the nearly 7 million sq ft project, DLF has already started construction of 3.3 million sq ft of built up area in the first phase. Two of the large corporations occupying space in the project include Standard Chartered Bank’s wholly owned subsidiary Standard Chartered Global Business Services (GBS) and Bank of America. Other large tenants, including KLA-Tencor, Fidelity, JRay, Synechron and Simpliwork, have committed office space in the LEED platinum certified building.
