By SOUTH BOSTON ONLINE STAFF
General Electric is moving to Fort Point.
GE announced the new location of its headquarters in a statement Thursday. The company will move to Necco Street, near Fort Point Channel and Summer Street.
“The property is under agreement to be purchased from P&G and sits at the edge of its 44 acre South Boston campus—at 5 and 6 Necco Way, representing roughly 2.5 acres,” reads the statement.
GE, currently based in Connecticut, first announced in January that it had chosen Boston as the location for its new headquarters. At that time, GE said it was looking at properties in South Boston.
“South Boston is a major hub for innovation and development and GE is excited to be a part of such a dynamic and creative ecosystem that is leading the future,” said Ann Klee, GE’s vice president, in the statement Thursday.
The future Fort Point headquarters will include new and existing buildings.
“The purchase includes two historic buildings, which will be renovated, and an adjoining parking lot, on which GE will construct a new building,” according to GE’s statement.
“When GE contacted us, we saw an opportunity to welcome a world class innovation leader into our neighborhood, benefiting the local community, enhancing the Seaport District and generating value for our shareholders,” said Charles Pierce, president of the Gillette Company at P&G. Gillette World Shaving Headquarters are adjacent to Fort Point Channel.
GE’s move will begin this year, as had been previously reported. GE employees will move to a temporary location on Farnsworth Street (also in South Boston) this summer. The move will be done in several steps and is expected to be complete by 2018.
“Boston was selected after a careful evaluation of the business ecosystem, talent, long-term costs, quality of life for employees, connections with the world and proximity to other important company assets,” the company said in a statement.
GE will have about 800 employees in Boston: 200 corporate employees and 600 digital industrial product managers, designers and developers divided among GE Digital, Current, robotics and Life Sciences.
The Boston Globe, the outlet to first report that GE was moving to Boston, has said that GE is “the biggest company ever to relocate to the city.”