John Hancock Life Insurance Co. has acquired 535-545 Boylston St., a two-building office complex containing 184,642 square feet of office and ground-floor retail space, for $100.5 million.

The acquisition price is $544 per square foot. Clarion acquired the property in January 2012 for $87.1 million.

The buildings are 85 percent leased to 40 tenants, including energy industry consultants IHRDC, film studio Legendary Entertainment, financial consultants Standish Management and public relations firm Brodeur Partners.

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s Boston office represented Clarion Partners in the sale.

“It’s a prominent location,” Newmark Executive Managing Director Matthew Pullen said. “Given the fact that it’s across from Copley Square and the (former) Hancock Tower, that corner block location is pretty irreplaceable.”

Average in-place rents are $52 per square foot. No tenant occupies more than 10 percent of the building, and the weighted average remaining lease term is just under four years.

Average rents in the Back Bay’s 9.4-million-square-foot class A office market were $61.21 per square foot in the second quarter, according to Boston-based Encompass Real Estate Strategies. The vacancy rate was 7.7 percent.

Sublease availabilities have increased from 0.7 to 3.8 percent over the last three quarters, with blocks available at Boston Properties’ 200 Clarendon St. and Oxford Properties Group’s 222 Berkeley St.