Wayfair Eyes Mammoth Back Bay Property for Headquarters

The site of Wayfair’s future office. Photo by Jessica Citronberg

Wayfair, the online furniture retailer that seems to employ every person you meet at the bar, needs a little more space to stretch its legs.

The company is in the final stages of leasing more than 400,000 square feet in the Back Bay, the Boston Business Journal reports, in a deal that would be one of the city’s largest in recent years. Much of the new office space, located in two high-rises at the intersection of Boylston St. and Berkeley St., was previously occupied by the education company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Wayfair’s current headquarters at 4 Copley Place features stylish themed rooms decked out in the home goods it sells.

Since the Boston-based furniture supplier was founded in 2002, it has rapidly expanded to become a huge technology player in the city. With a workforce of more than 6,800 strong worldwide, Wayfair boasted $4.3 billion in net revenue last fiscal year, according to a company press release. The company is known for its innovative approach to home design, debuting its own Lifetime TV show in 2016 and rolling out a virtual reality app that gives customers the chance to simulate in-person shopping from the comfort of their couch.

Wayfair will share its future home with the fantasy sports company DraftKings, which aims to relocate to a 105,000 square-foot space in the same property next year, according to the BBJ.