TIAA closing Denver office, moving jobs to headquarters in Texas

Financial services company TIAA is closing its Denver offices at a building that has become a prominent feature of the city skyline — with the financial giant’s logo emblazoned across the top.

The company said this week that it will leave Denver in July 2026 and relocate to its new headquarters building in Frisco, Texas, according to an August 6 letter sent to employees.

“We believe Frisco is the right market to invest and grow in,” Chief People Officer Claire Borelli and Chief Administrative Officer Derek Ferguson said in the letter. “Closing the Denver office in 2026, instead of when the lease ends in 2029, will provide substantial savings in rent and operational costs savings which TIAA can then invest in business needs that align with our strategy.”

TIAA’s data center in Broomfield will stay open but will be limited to hosting employee roles that are critical to operations. Denver and Broomfield employees will get details relative to the impact on their jobs closer to move, the letter said. Most new hiring will be done in Frisco. The move was reported earlier by The Denver Post.

“Most roles are expected to be transitioned to Frisco, Texas, with associates having the option to relocate,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We made this announcement now to give our associates as much notice as we could.” 

TIAA will maintain a presence in Denver for certain associates who meet in person with clients as part of their role, the spokesperson said.

The departure is another blow to Downtown Denver, an area of the city that has struggled to recover from the pandemic. Roughly one-third of the office space downtown is sitting empty as remote work becomes the norm. Much of the vacant space is outdated, making it a tough sell for companies that are using less space and being choosier about where to put their employees.

TIAA is closing its Denver office in order to consolidate space in a building that’s “more modern, collaborative and energizing,” the letter said. The move will also “leverage a strong and broad talent pool in a geographic area that is growing and thriving.”

The glut of empty space is bad for businesses downtown that rely on foot traffic from office workers. Moreover, empty space often leads to more empty space. People don’t want to spend time in hollowed-out neighborhoods that don’t feel lively and safe.

The problem is compounded by ongoing construction on the 16^th Street Mall, which is making large chunks of downtown noisy, unappealing and hard to reach.

TIAA is also closing its offices in Jacksonville, Florida, when a lease on that building expires in 2025, according to the letter. The primary purpose of that office was to support TIAA bank, which was sold last year, TIAA executives wrote in the letter. 

Frisco will become one of TIAA’s four main corporate offices in the U.S., along with Charlotte, New York and Chicago. The financial services provider is also an investor in the Texas property to which it is moving.