General Electric will build Innovation Point, its new headquarters facility, on an approximately 2.5-acre parcel located on Fort Point Channel in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood. The parcel consists of two historic six-story brick Boston Wharf Company warehouse buildings at 5 and 6 Necco Court and a section of the existing Gillette parking lot. Designed by Gensler, GE’s approximately 2.5-acre, 390,000-square-foot campus will restore the existing warehouses and construct a new 12-story, 293,000-square-foot building. The three buildings will be connected by a bridge and a public pedestrian walkway, GE Plaza. Approximately 1.5 acres of public space will be constructed at Innovation Point, including a Harborwalk extension. The campus will also include a coffee bar and waterfront restaurant space on the ground floor.
Innovation Point will house approximately 800 employees. The campus will also include a variety of community spaces including hands-on classroom workspace for local tech startups and students, convener space for community presentations and events, public co-working space, an “innovation and exploration center” highlighting the past, present, and future of GE and a life science company incubator space where GE will engage 6-12 early stage companies to develop “innovative co-created products.”
Innovation Point will be LEED Version 4 compliant and will include state-of-the-art environmentally-friendly and sustainable features such as a distinctive “solar veil” that will cover the new building’s facade with solar panels. Other features will include green roof areas, dynamic stormwater controls and high-efficiency HVAC and lighting. GE’s campus will encourage use of public transportation, walking, biking and other alternative methods of transport; a total of 30 car parking spaces will be constructed on site in an underground garage.
Innovation Point will open in two phases. Completion of Phase One, restoration of the two historic buildings by Consigli Construction, is expected in the first half of 2019. Completion of Phase Two, construction of the new building by Suffolk Construction and creation of new public open space along Fort Point Channel, is expected in mid-2021.