The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has leased 163K SF in the Plaza of the Americas in Downtown Dallas. That is one of the five largest office leases signed in the central business district in the past 10 years, according to Transwestern, which represented the building owners.

“This commitment is fantastic news for downtown Dallas and is indicative of the district’s overall attractiveness,” Transwestern’s Kim Brooks, who worked the deal with Justin Miller, Paul Wittorf and Laney Underwood, said in a statement.

The suburbs have drawn the bulk of office deals in the Metroplex for years, and some foresee the coronavirus pandemic accelerating this trend globally, but Downtown is having a bit of a moment. The FDIC lease is the second major office deal announced in the CBD in a week after Integrity Marketing Group leased 100K SF in Fountain Place. Unlike the Integrity lease, which represented a relocation from the suburbs into Downtown, the FDIC is undertaking an intra-submarket move; Transwestern confirmed to Bisnow that the deal is a relocation from the FDIC’s office at 1601 Bryan St., less than a mile from Plaza of the Americas.

The deal comes on the heels of other leases in Plaza of the Americas: renewals for Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons' 69K SF and Saville, Dodgen & Co.'s 21K SF, plus a new 9K SF deal for Estrada Hinojosa & Co.

Downtown has been working to revitalize for decades, particularly by adding residents and amenities and building gleaming new office towers alongside the decades-old stock.

Plaza of the Americas sits at 600 North Pearl St., just outside the boundaries of the Dallas Arts District, and encompasses two 25-story office towers, a Marriott hotel, and a 13-story glass atrium with more than 20 retail stores and restaurants and an indoor garden. It is owned by M-M Properties, in partnership with an account managed by Clarion Partners.

Colliers International’s Keith Lavey, Victoria Abbasi, Charles Dilks, Matt Johnston, Kurt Stout, Connor Faught, Travis Ewert and Mary Stoner represented the FDIC in the lease.