FM to move global HQ to downtown Providence, closing Johnston corporate campus

Insurance behemoth FM is trading its sprawling corporate campus in Johnston for a downtown Providence office tower, the company formerly known as FM Global confirmed in a statement to Rhode Island Current Tuesday afternoon.

The news comes 10 months after the Fortune 500 company, one of the state’s top employers, purchased the iconic glass and metal building overlooking Providence Place Mall for $68.5 million. It’s also a little over a year after state lawmakers agreed to rewrite a law limiting insurance company investments on nontraditional, long-term assets based on FM’s request and plans for expansion.

That expansion now includes recentering the company’s global headquarters in downtown Providence — where it was founded as Manufacturers Mutual Fire Insurance Co. in 1835 — and eventually closing the 93-acre wooded campus in Johnston, an FM spokesperson said. Details on when the Johnston campus will close, and how the move will affect the local workforce, were not immediately available.

Renovations to the building at 10 Memorial Boulevard in downtown Providence are expected to be completed in late 2027. FM will occupy a portion of the 10-story building, which also houses the state’s lottery contractor formerly known as IGT, Fidelity Investments Inc., and The Capital Grille.

“The move reflects our confidence in Providence’s future while supporting our broader strategy to strengthen our presence in key business centers across the Northeast, connected by the Interstate 95 and Amtrak corridors,” the company said in a statement. “This approach will bring our people closer together and strengthen our relationships with clients, partners and the investment community.”

The relocation, which was shared internally with company employees this week, was news to Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. Reached by phone two hours after appearing at a press conference to announce Gov.-elect Helena Buonanno Foulkes’ transition team, Polisena said he had not heard that FM was planning to move out of Johnston.

“If that’s true, we’ll do everything we can to meet with them to see if there’s anything we can do as a municipality to keep them,” Polisena said. 

He pointed to the “state climate,” rather than municipal policy, as a potential reason for the move.

House Speaker Christopher Blazejeski and Senate President Valerie Lawson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Gov. Dan McKee’s office also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

FM opened its current headquarters off Central Avenue in September 2009, spending $154 million to build the corporate offices on land it already owned, according to news reports.

FM said on Tuesday it will “continue to evaluate plans for the property.”

Its research campus in Glocester will remain in place. 

Foulkes, who touched briefly on economic development as part of transition plans unveiled at a press conference Tuesday, said she plans to meet with company executives, along with other top employers, as part of her transition.

“FM Global is an important business in Rhode Island and a major employer, and I’m pleased they will be staying in the state,” she said in a statement Tuesday.

This story will be updated.