Nortek outgrows Kennedy Plaza HQ, plans move to Capital Center

NORTEK INC. plans to move into the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island building at 500 Exchange St. in June, after having outgrown its current space at 50 Kennedy Plaza, the company said Friday.
NORTEK INC. plans to move into the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island building at 500 Exchange St. in June, after having outgrown its current space at 50 Kennedy Plaza, the company said Friday.

(Updated, March 11, 10:20 a.m.)

PROVIDENCE – Nortek Inc. has agreed to move its corporate headquarters from Providence’s Financial District to the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island building in the Capital Center area, the company said Friday.

Owner of ventilation system brands, Nortek has been growing and centralizing administrative functions in its Rhode Island headquarters, causing it to outgrow its current space at 50 Kennedy Plaza.

“Over the past two years we have added a lot of good jobs in Providence so our current space doesn’t accommodate it, and we have had to take extra spaces in the building,” said Michael Botelho, Nortek vice president of strategy and investor relations. “We have five spaces not connected on three different floors, so what we got is an opportunity to be in a great single space in a great building.”

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Nortek will lease roughly 25,000 square feet on the 10th floor of the Blue Cross building at 500 Exchange St. and expects to move there in June, Botelho said. The current lease at 50 Kennedy Plaza, also known as 100 Westminster St., ends in May.

Hayes & Sherry Real Estate Services represented Blue Cross on the lease deal, which was signed in December. Nortek was represented by Chicago brokerage firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

After Nortek moves in, half of the 12th floor and all of the 11th floor will remain available for lease, according to Stacy Paterno, a spokeswoman for Blue Cross.

Nortek currently has 90 employees in Providence, up from 45 two years ago, Botelho said.

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