A major consulting firm has inked a deal to relocate from Bethesda to Downtown D.C. with the largest new lease signed so far this year in the District.

Boston Consulting Group signed a 98K SF lease last month at the Metropolitan Square office building at 655 15th St. NW, a BCG spokesperson confirmed to Bisnow.

The owner of Metropolitan Square, Boston Properties, announced in its Q1 earnings report last week that it signed a new, 98K SF lease at the building, but it declined to disclose the tenant. Newmark leases the building on behalf of Boston Properties, which completed a $60M renovation of the property last year.

Boston Consulting Group, one of the largest consulting firms in the country, is relocating its D.C.-area office from 4800 Hampden Lane in Bethesda, a building owned by Spitzer Enterprises, the family real estate firm of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

BCG Partner Justin Dean, head of the firm's D.C. office, wrote in an emailed statement to Bisnow that the move strengthens the firm's presence in the D.C. region.

"As leaders in consulting and partners to leading businesses, non-profits, and public sector agencies in the area, we believe being in the heart of the city enables us to serve clients ever more directly," Dean wrote.

A nearly 100K SF tenant moving into the heart of D.C. represents a major win for an office market that has been struggling throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

The District recorded 1.1M SF of negative absorption during Q1, according to CBRE. The District's largest new office lease last quarter was Biotechnology Innovation Organization signing on at 1201 New York Ave. NW for 61K SF.

The 657K SF Metropolitan Square office building was 61.5% leased as of March 31, prior to the BCG lease, according to Boston Properties' Q1 earnings report. The firm revealed in the earnings report that the BCG lease closed in April, along with a 72K SF expansion with an existing tenant in Reston, where it has recorded strong activity throughout the pandemic.

"Activity in the D.C. region was light during the [first] quarter with only 50K SF of office leasing," Boston Properties CEO Owen Thomas said on the firm's Q1 earnings call, according to a Motley Fool transcript. "But as the calendar moved to April, we signed another 170K SF."

UPDATE, MAY 4, 5:15 P.M. ET: This story has been updated with a statement from BCG Partner Justin Dean.