Sun Life U.S. moves Connecticut office to downtown Hartford

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Sun Life U.S. will relocate its Connecticut office to One Financial Plaza in Hartford, occupying 47,000 square feet. This move is designed to strengthen talent acquisition in a key insurance market. The new office will accommodate up to 450 employees, enhancing operational efficiency with modern amenities. The relocation is seen as a positive signal for Hartford's economic recovery post-pandemic, reinforcing the city's business ecosystem. Design work starts in early 2022, with a planned occupancy in September 2022.

Positive

Relocation to One Financial Plaza enhances operational capacity and employee experience.
Office to accommodate up to 450 employees, increasing workforce presence.
Strategic move supports talent acquisition in a strong insurance market.
Modern amenities promote flexibility and employee well-being.

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08/31/2021 - 02:43 PM

WINDSOR, Conn., Aug. 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sun Life U.S. announced plans to move its Connecticut office to One Financial Plaza, also known as "The Gold Building," at the corner of Main and Pearl Streets in downtown Hartford. Sun Life will occupy 47,000 square feet of space in one of the largest, most prominent office towers in Hartford. The building offers modern amenities, including a fitness center, onsite café, and an attached parking garage with state-of-the-art equipment. The location is within walking distance to a number of excellent restaurants, theater venues, museums and other activities.

"Hartford is one of the strongest markets in the world for insurance and related technology professionals, and bringing our Connecticut team to Hartford is an important step in making us an even stronger home for top talent in the area," said Dan Fishbein, M.D., president of Sun Life U.S. "We look forward to developing a strong presence in and relationship with the city of Hartford."

"Our office-work dynamic has shifted to a more flexible model and we intend to design our new space with advanced concepts for the future of work, including features that support how employees choose to work, leading technology, and amenities such as complimentary parking," added Fishbein.

"We are thrilled to welcome Sun Life to the heart of downtown Hartford, adding to the tremendous ecosystem of insurance companies and insurtech startups in our capital city," said Mayor Luke Bronin. "As we recover from the pandemic, having Sun Life and other major employers in Hartford will send a powerful message as we work to grow our city."

At full capacity, the new office will accommodate up to 450 employees. Currently there are approximately 300 Sun Life employees based in Connecticut, a mixture of underwriting, actuarial, technology, operations, clinical, sales, and product professionals in Sun Life's Stop-Loss & Health and Group Benefits businesses, as well as legal, HR and finance team members.

"This new office will be a hub for Sun Life and give us the opportunity to operate with modern, more efficient capacity for our employees and clients," said Jen Collier, R.N., senior vice president, Stop-Loss & Health, at Sun Life U.S. "Our new, flexibility-inspired space will support our teams' optimal work styles, help us drive better health outcomes for our members and support our employer clients."

The iconic 26-story, Class-A office tower is one of the most visible buildings on Hartford's skyline and co-owned by LAZ Investments LLC and Shelbourne Global Solutions. The structure has an efficient building core layout and an attached eight-story, 1,100-space garage operated by LAZ Parking with the highest parking ratio in downtown Hartford.

"We are pleased to welcome Sun Life to the Gold Building and to be adding yet another well-respected company to our list of corporate tenants," said Alan Lazowski, Chairman and CEO of LAZ Parking. "Sun Life's decision to relocate its workforce downtown is an indicator of our rebounding economy and of the growing interest in Hartford as a place to do business and attract amazing talent."

"This new lease demonstrates the confidence the business community has in the future of the city and its rebirth as a place where workers can live, work, and play," added Michael Seidenfeld, Chief Operating Officer of Shelbourne Global Partners, LLC.

Sun Life will begin office design work in early 2022 and take occupancy in September 2022. Other tenants of One Financial Plaza include KPMG, Travelers, LAZ Parking, People's United Bank, Virtus Investments, Global Atlantic, Accenture, Conning and General Reinsurance.

About Sun Life

Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of June 30, 2021, Sun Life had total assets under management of $1.36 trillion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

In the United States, Sun Life is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than 55,000 employers in small, medium and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of insurance products and services in the U.S. includes disability, absence management, life, dental, vision, voluntary, supplemental health and medical stop-loss. Sun Life and its affiliates in asset management businesses in the U.S. employ approximately 5,500 people. Group insurance policies are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, Mass.), except in New York, where policies are issued by Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing, Mich.). For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.

Media contacts:

Devon Fernald	Mary Coursey
Sun Life U.S.	LAZ Investments-Shelbourne Global Solutions
781-800-3609	860-232-9600
Devon.Portney.Fernald@sunlife.com	mary@courseyco.com