General Electric HQ (Necco Buildings Reno) | 5 Necco Street | Fort Point

Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

What Gensler Said[.b]
I finally came across an actual paper copy of the BBJ and found the comment from Gensler that was formerly hidden behind the pay wall [note there is more in the article but its mostly irrelevant history of the "Plum Logo" as placed on "The Hub on Causeway"

screen-shot-2016-04-08-at-112041-am*180xx1084-813-146-0.png


except for this strange quote -- when told that Glover's renderings were used in the process to recruit GE, Gensler Laughed
That was not done for GE -- Maybe that was serendipitous
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Note that according to the BBJ -- David Glover, Gensler principal and design director at Gensler sent the rendering to Boston Properties who in turn sent the drawings to Boston City Economic Development Chief John Baros in mid November. Apparently these were the only architectural renderings involved in the entire GE recruitment effort


my hand transcription of the Gensler quote
It's a building that is a great platform for gritty innovation and gritty collaboration, a roll-up-your sleeves mindset. It's a building that is meant to really be a representation of honest hard work. The combination of that, and with something that's meant to be a much-more modern interpretation of that, is something that combines the rich history of the city, the rich history of GE, all combined in one campus.
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people_doug-gensler_02_1024x576.jpg

comments of Doug Gensler, principal and managing director of architectural firm Gensler's Boston Office, on designing the headquarters for the General Electric Company.
 
Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

some ideas for Doug if Jeff hasn't been plitheing his troth and vice versa

Some words:
The combination of old buildings and vacant land that they picked gave them room for800 people
Resources: two approx 85,000 gsft each multistory 100 year old brick buildings and about 100,000 sq ft of parking lot:
  • 2 old warehouses which once housed New England Confectionary Company [aka NECCO of the eponymous street and court]:
    • to look gritty and industrially historical
    • to provide an appropriate front-end for visitors with the formal "Museum of GE Innovation" as part of entry hall
  • some open parking lot upon which to construct whatever glass and steel combination of boxes is needed to meet the HQ's combined roll
    • The "Digital Foundry" -- lab / work / demo space -- a sandbox / playpen for 600 Gnurds and Gnurdian Managers and customers with some open, flexible play / work space
    • appropriate elements to house 200 "Suits" and their office suites and necessary Suit-supporting infrastructure
    • Jeff Immelt's Giant GE Logo to well ....
  • GE said in a statement that it “asked important and challenging questions about employee inspiration and teaming, environmental sustainability, and integration into the Boston innovation ecosystem” when considering architects. The headquarters must have a global scale and feel, GE said, while still remaining rooted in Boston.
    Click to expand...
Some pix:
  • From GE
    BostonHQ4-e1452715209785.jpg
  • From Gensler
    other projects that they've done with GE include the interior of the Calgary GE Innovation Centre or perhaps Centre -- focused on the Energy Sector -- located on the 34th floor of a generic office tower
    project_ge-innovation-center_01_1024x576_1405723834_1024x576.jpg

    05-oilsands-story02.jpg

    for more information on this project
    http://www.gensler.com/projects/ge-innovation-center
  • a recent GE corporate level facility called the Global Operations Center in Cincinnati
    GE is accelerating the establishment of shared services to deliver better outcomes at lower cost for our businesses and customers. Called Global Operations, we are centralizing and simplifying these services to work smarter and more efficiently. Our team of experts at the U.S. Global Operations Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, spans many functions, including: Accounting, Finance, Communications, Customs, HR, IT, Legal, Logistics, Project Management, Supply Chain, & Enterprise Data Management. We apply our expertise to business processes to make them simple, fast and more reliable, enabling our colleagues to compete and win in the global marketplace.
    Click to expand...
    anyway -- this is what that facility will look like when its completed
    GE%20Banks%20--%20NE%20Elevation%20%28night%29%20-%20Copy.jpg

    Complete with the “See it from Mars logo”
  • example images from Logmein HQ housed in an old warehiouse located in the immediate GE HQ neighborhood
    SGA_LogMeIn_01_2.jpg

    SGA_LogMeIn_05.jpg
    SGA_LogMeIn_04.jpg
 
Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

Bound For Boston, GE CEO Puts Conn. Mansion Up For Sale
By DAVIS DUNAVIN • 5 HOURS AGO

General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt has put his four-acre New Canaan mansion on the market for $5.5 million. He’s lived there since 2001.....

Immelt’s leaving a 10,000-square foot mansion behind for a comparatively cramped 3,000-square foot condo in the heart of Boston. But, like real estate agents say, it’s all about location. And right now, they say urban areas are in far more demand than quiet suburbs. Young people want walkable neighborhoods with restaurants and bars.
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from WSHU NPR News & Classical Music
http://wshu.org/post/bound-boston-ge-ceo-puts-conn-mansion-sale

Out with the old
immelt-house-new-canaan.jpg

in with the New
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qcghpfbf449qmztw8qnd11apv6i


if you go to the auction -- Probably can get a good deal on a Lawn and Garden Tractor that Jeff wont need on Comm Ave unless he's going to volunteer to mow the Comm Ave Mall ;)
 
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Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

In another GE-moves to Boston story
GE Sees Oil, Software M&A Opportunities as Boston Move Nears
Rick Clough
May 6, 2016 — 5:00 AM EDT Updated on May 6, 2016 — 2:40 PM EDT

Finance chief says there's `opportunity to create real value'
City's ecosystem has same focus as GE, Bornstein says

...Any deal [[in the energy sector] my brackets] would advance a dramatic transformation GE is undergoing as it prepares to relocate to Boston later this year. The company has agreed to sell its home-appliances business and more than $160 billion in finance assets in just over a year to renew focus on industries such as energy and aviation. GE aims to be a more streamlined and technologically advanced industrial manufacturer by the time it moves to temporary offices in August......

Software Possibilities
Besides oil and gas deals, GE will also explore opportunities to work with or acquire startups in the Boston area, particularly ones that complement GE’s growing software business, Bornstein said. Executives have said they want to build a $15 billion digital business in the coming years.

“There have been a number of technology and startup companies that have reached out to us since we’ve made the announcement publicly, in everything from robotics to health sciences, 3-D printing, advanced manufacturing,” he said. “There are capabilities that we’re building organically, and there will be capabilities, applications, use cases that we’ll supplement with partners.”

Boston’s network of technology companies, research universities and skilled workers were central to GE’s decision in January to move there from its longtime home of Fairfield, Connecticut. The company plans to play up the tech industry angle with the new permanent office, slated to open in two years, with features such as a “software foundry to develop applications,” Bornstein said.

Turkey, Deer
“We like the idea of being able to walk out the door and interact with an ecosystem that is very much focused on the same things we’re trying to focus on,” said Bornstein, who earned a degree from the city’s [Northeastern University my brackets and highlight] and plans to move to Boston this year. In Fairfield, he said, when you walk out the door “you see turkey and deer.”

The lure of Boston led GE to turn down more-lucrative incentive packages offered by other cities, Bornstein said.......some cities offered twice the package from Boston and Massachusetts....The ultimate package GE accepts will be less, Bornstein said, in part because the company plans to pay some costs itself.....

GE submitted an application to U.S. financial regulators in March to rescind its designation as a too-big-to-fail institution. Dropping from the ranks of systemically important companies would free up billions of dollars of capital and help GE avoid increasingly restrictive oversight in the coming years.

Bornstein said he’s “hopeful” GE will get a positive response from regulators by August.
“The reason we filed for de-designation is we no longer in any way, shape or form represent a systemic risk to the financial system in the U.S.,” he said.
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from Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ftware-m-a-opportunities-as-boston-move-nears

Someone should tell the other Jeff [Bornstein] that if he was to relocate to say the wilds of Brookline he'd see plenty of wild turkeys and deer and coyotes. In Boston proper, he can go to Franklin Park, Chestnut Hill, and the Arboretum for plenty of wild animals and even a moose was spotted in Brookline -- Jeff its an urban jungle out there :rolleyes:
 
Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

Looks to be a very nice waterfront gateway also. I believe that after GE moves in, a few others build on the waterfront, hopefully some waterfront bars liberty wharf style, the post office moves, a pedestrian bridge is built, along with the park shown in some renders, that this is going to really be something. This could have tons of boat docks, waterfront dining/bars, water taxis to GE and south station leading to various parts of the city, and waterfront retail across the channel in the old post office lot. This is a hidden gem that will be polished in the coming years, especially after getting the new northern ave bridge.

Combining the easy to navigate street grid, the old buildings of fort point, the new buildings of the seaport, coupled with the extended harbor walk at pier 4, and finally the extended harbor walk in fort point along with a ped bridge is going to really bring all of this together. Cant wait. I honestly think people are going to love this neighborhood. Just passing through today Seaport Blvd is turning into a destination already. The street wall is vastly improved and with a little imagination its easy to see that 1 seaport sq is going to be a hit.
 
Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

I asked Steve for further clarification about what app he found this on. Apparently GE has a GE Boston app where they post news about their move here. Steve noted this morning that the rendering has since been removed.

Looks like someone done fucked up!
 
Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

stick n move said:
Looks to be a very nice waterfront gateway also. I believe that after GE moves in, a few others build on the waterfront, hopefully some waterfront bars liberty wharf style, the post office moves, a pedestrian bridge is built, along with the park shown in some renders, that this is going to really be something.
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Keeping my fingers crossed that this turns out to be an example of private investment that improves a public realm. (I know that the GE tax break is a political issue, and I do not know the "right answer" about that, but that doesn't stop me from hoping that a win-win emerges out of all of this).
 
Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

Hutchison said:
Here's the LOI: http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/getattachment/ccbbc21c-3cab-48f4-a592-5b4505018516
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Thanks!

Includes what I was hoping for:

"...the construction of public realm improvements, including approximately 42,430 square feet of new open space for the public and 15,000 +/- square feet of covered open space, as well as improvements to the City's Harborwalk along the Fort Point Channel"

This could really improve that part of the channel.

Also fyi, the new tower is slated as 12-stories/ 293,000 sq. ft.
 
Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

Hutchison said:
Here's the LOI: http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/getattachment/ccbbc21c-3cab-48f4-a592-5b4505018516
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Hutchison -- moving forward on their aggressive schedule

my guess is that we will see some real renders and a filing with the BRA about the time that Ms. Klee's address [she seems to be the point person on the whole move] changes from suburban Easton Turnpike, Fairfield CT to, urban Farnsworth St., Boston. MA -- 2 months from now
 
Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

bigpicture7 said:
Thanks!

Includes what I was hoping for:

"...the construction of public realm improvements, including approximately 42,430 square feet of new open space for the public and 15,000 +/- square feet of covered open space, as well as improvements to the City's Harborwalk along the Fort Point Channel"

This could really improve that part of the channel.

Also fyi, the new tower is slated as 12-stories/ 293,000 sq. ft.
Click to expand...

What does 'covered open space' mean??

For that matter, what does 'open space' mean? Is it a good thing?
 
Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

CSTH said:
What does 'covered open space' mean??

For that matter, what does 'open space' mean? Is it a good thing?
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See my post above with the leaked render. That's the definition of "covered open space."

The layperson would call it "space between buildings." Architects? Nope. "Covered open space."
 
Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

CSTH said:
What does 'covered open space' mean??

For that matter, what does 'open space' mean? Is it a good thing?
Click to expand...

Scroll up to the leaked render for the answer.
 
Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

CSTH said:
What does 'covered open space' mean??

For that matter, what does 'open space' mean? Is it a good thing?
Click to expand...

My understanding is landscaped/hardscaped plaza space that you don't need a GE badge to get into (hence "public") and that connects to an extended harborwalk. (i.e., park-like space for the general public).

Since, according to the bizjournal article, this will be gov-owned lease-back space, GE is essentially paying to build/maintain park space for the general public as a reciprocal part of their package.

Hey this was semi-vacant industrial space interrupting the would-be harborwalk, so it is a vast improvement.
 
Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

Got it - you guys know me, hyper-vigilant as always about functionally-private things masquerading as public amenities...I'll withold judgement for now...
 
Re: General Electric HQ | Necco St.| Fort Point

i assume you all have explored GE's Ft Point move, but i'm not sure you all saw Thursday's Globe article.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/busines...an-expected/akQZZFUdr4E6JzHTNlJAKJ/story.html

and Zombie Activist, Shirley says her bit;

skressel said:
Right, the "maker" class, so much more worthy than ordinary mortals. Give them everything, our taxes, our labor, our retail servitude. We worthless "takers" should feel privileged to be the "givers" to the "makers."
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