Neighborhoods

Nation’s largest Black-owned bank plans to move headquarters to Roxbury

OneUnited said the move would bring the bank closer to its customers.

Pat Greenhouse

By Emily Spatz

1 minute to read

The nation’s largest Black-owned bank has announced plans to move its national headquarters from downtown Boston to Roxbury, a move its CEO says will bring the bank closer to its customers and help it serve as an “example” for the Black community. 

OneUnited Bank will move its headquarters from 100 Franklin St. to 54 John Eliot Square once it attains a permit from the city, the bank’s CEO and owner Kevin Cohee said in a statement. 

“The move will bring us geographically closer to our customers, align our executive office better with our local branch, which is essential to help us create new products and services to meet the needs of low to moderate income communities, and provide more room for the growth in our employees,” Cohee said.

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The move is a full-circle moment for the bank. Its history dates back to 1968 when — then known as the Unity Bank and Trust Company — it was established in what is known today as Roxbury’s Nubian Square. It now has six locations nationwide and surpassed 100,000 customers in 2020.

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Roxbury is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Boston and is regarded as the center of the city’s Black culture. Multiple areas in the neighborhood — including Nubian Square — are undergoing efforts for revitalization and economic investment.

“Moving our HQ to Roxbury is part of our growth as a company and part of our growth as a people,” Cohee said. “We know that OneUnited Bank serves as an example of what is possible for the Black community in Boston and across the nation, and look forward to expanding the economic revolution taking place in Roxbury.”

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OneUnited purchased the building in Roxbury in 2022, describing the move on its website as bringing the bank into the “heart of Boston’s Black community.”

Construction on the building will begin once the bank obtains a permit from the City of Boston and regulatory approval to move its headquarters, Cohee said. 

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