Gillette HQ and Technical Innovation Center | 232 A Street | Fort Point

Sheer glass wall facing the channel will be great for the occupants, really happy this building and Lilly are focusing their prime views on the water while enhancing or retaining the public waterfront. Down with the parking lots!
 
BCDC: https://bpda.app.box.com/s/xsapwi7rc38dgzs5q36kv7h120ezn44l

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Someone's going to be left holding the bag on the lab market eventually, and it would be great to have more housing beyond the one building at Channelside, but if a resilient Fort Point Channel waterfront comes out of this and the future Gillette development it will be a big win for the area. Neighbors are going to hate it no matter what, but the worse option of two buildings and no public park is by-right, so this seems like a decent outcome.
 
So is the approval only for Building G8 on the site, with Building G7 to follow (or not)?

And did the entire site move from an originally planned 4 buildings to now just 2?
 
itchy said:
So is the approval only for Building G8 on the site, with Building G7 to follow (or not)?

And did the entire site move from an originally planned 4 buildings to now just 2?
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They consolidated two buildings zoned on G7 and G8 to one building, on the G8 site, and gave the G7 site back as part of the extended waterfront park for a bit more height on G8. It was only ever envisioned as two buildings max under the 100 Acre Plan. The sites towards the harbor are part of Channel Side, which is three buildings total with a large park (G4-G6). Screen shot below. the massing is a bit different from this render, but it's more or less accurate.

The trick is, the developer could've built the two buildings by right, which I think would have been net worse for everyone. They basically dangled that suboptimal outcome to advocate for a bit more space in G8 with the promise of a park and better waterfront access.

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^^ Ah, thank you - that's helpful. It's a disappointing (d)evolution from the initial schematics presented, IMO...
 
Surprising email with a not-so-surprising underlying issue. It appears that Gillette is going to purchase this parcel from Breakthrough and make it their new headquarters, instead of the original lab building. Given the climate, that stopped making sense as a project, pretty obviously. Email I just received, below. Corporate HQ moving next door, redevelopment of the 31 acre parcel of the original HQ continues, and manufacturing will remain in Andover, which is undergoing upgrades. Will update if the press picks it up:


Dear South Boston Residents and Community Members,

We are writing to share important news about the future of our company.

Today, we are announcing to our employees that we have decided to locate our new Headquarters and Technical Innovation Center at 232 A Street in South Boston. We plan to buy this property from Breakthrough Properties which was recently subject to an extensive development review process, and build a modern, state-of-the-art home there. This decision will support our future success and honor our roots in the very neighborhood where our company began almost 125 years ago.

This decision represents our largest single investment ever in Boston, nearly $1 billion, underscoring our confidence in this city as a global innovation destination. This choice is not just about our business; it is an investment in Boston itself. This very intentional choice will help catalyze neighborhood growth and continued success, and bring tangible benefits to the community, including construction and trade jobs, new open space, sidewalks, bike lanes, waterfront access, civic/cultural elements, and more.

This is also just the beginning. We continue to make progress in reimagining our existing 31-acre campus in partnership with you, the City, area leaders and the broader community. We are thrilled that our future headquarters will live in the heart of this vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood — one that will bring incredible benefits and amenities for all.

This exciting advancement in Boston builds on the significant progress we are making in Andover, where the exterior of our 21st Century Manufacturing Center is complete after breaking ground last Spring. Together, both projects represent an approximate $1.5 billion investment in the Commonwealth and the largest investment we have ever made in our Grooming operations.

We are very excited about the future ahead on all fronts, and we hope to begin construction in Boston as soon as 2027, taking an important step toward the future for Gillette and the community.

We look forward to continuing to partner with you on the journey ahead.

Best regards,

The Gillette Team



EDIT: Globe has an article on this as well

www.bostonglobe.com

Gillette will build new headquarters next to South Boston campus with nearly $1 billion investment from Procter & Gamble - The Boston Globe

The consumer products giant opted to build on a site that it sold to a lab developer five years ago, instead of leasing space in an existing building.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
 
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  1. Adding the existing "Gillette" sign to the top of the new building sounds like a no-brainer (a la moving Fenway's old "John Hancock" sign to the Back Bay).
  2. I really hope they can find some way to keep the "WORLD SHAVING HEADQUARTERS" as well, maybe in the 1-acre park between the building and Fort Point Channel?
  3. I wouldn't be surprised if Gillette / P&G bought this land back from "Breakthrough Properties" for less than they sold it to Tischman Speyer in the first place. Sell high-buy low, amirite?

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Sounds like some good news and we'll hopefully have at least one crane in the sky before too long. I hope Wu doesn't try a "shake down" to get some freebies.
 
St. Botolph Street said:
Sounds like some good news and we'll hopefully have at least one crane in the sky before too long. I hope Wu doesn't try a "shake down" to get some freebies.
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I think the "freebies" are already baked into the development approval P&G is buying back with the site (waterfront park, for example).
 
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