Image courtesy of HYM Investment Group

A downtown Boston law firm has committed to become the second tenant at the One Congress office tower.

K&L Gates will relocate from 1 Lincoln St. in mid-2023 and occupy two floors at the 1 million-square-foot tower in the Bulfinch Crossing development.

“One Congress Street, located in a completely revitalized and flourishing part of the Financial District, exemplifies the future of office space in Boston, with amenity offerings to our lawyers and staff that will make the ultimate return to work fresh and exciting, and in step with the modern way of doing business in an office setting,” K&L Gates Managing Partner Mark E. Haddad said in a statement.

CBRE’s John Barry, Peter McQuaid and Jeff Landers of CBRE represented One Congress in this transaction, while CBRE’s Dave Fitzgerald and Tim Howe represented K&L Gates.

Downtown Boston’s office market recorded its first growth since pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter, according to CBRE research, with 364,000 square feet of positive absorption. The vacancy rate declined to 11.1 percent.

With more options, office tenants are upgrading to higher-quality space, CBRE said in a research report issued today. More than 20 major office tenants have relocated in downtown Boston during the pandemic, and 83 percent upgraded to a building that was more recently renovated than their previous location.

“Employers, hope to pull and not push workers back into the office, are turning towards brand new buildings, substantial collaborative areas and amenities aimed at reshaping the office as a destination where people come together,” the report stated.

One Congress is among 5.6 million square feet of new office space under construction in downtown Boston, including Millennium Partners’ Winthrop Center and Hines’ South Station Tower.

Boston-based HYM Investment Group is partnering with Carr Properties and National Real Estate Advisors on the project, which secured State Street Corp. as anchor tenant with a 510,000-square-foot lease in 2019.

“We have created a premium, cutting-edge office environment at One Congress, and we are proud to welcome K&L Gates to the project,” said Jeffrey Kanne, President and CEO of National Real Estate Advisors. “The industry-leading organizations making their way to One Congress speaks to the quality of the project and the location.”