The Procter & Gamble Company sent a proposal to Boston officials on Tuesday for a redevelopment of its iconic Gillette South Boston campus into housing, a waterfront park and new commercial space.
“We anticipate the planning and development of this largely inaccessible site will create meaningful and positive improvements to the community,” wrote Joseph Stegbauer, senior vice president of The Procter & Gamble Company, in his letter of intent to the City of Boston’s Planning Department.
Though the letter does not include many details on what the project might entail, Stegbauer said it would turn the area from inaccessible into a community space and noted Gillette’s 120-year presence in the Boston neighborhood. He added project construction would happen in phases.
While most of the 31-acre site is for commercial use, housing would comprise about a third of the redevelopment space, the letter to the BPDA said. Plans also include 50% of the site turned into “usable green open spaces” and “one of the largest waterfront parks on private land” in that sect of the city.
The entire project, located between A Street and the Fort Point Channel, is focused on climate resiliency, especially to rising sea levels, Stegbauer wrote. Additionally, the project is expected to create “numerous construction and permanent jobs.”
“This is an important moment for our business and for Boston. Redeveloping our 31-acre South Boston site will create exciting new possibilities for the continued evolution of the city,” said Kara Buckley, vice president of community affairs at Gillette, in a statement.
Mayor Michelle Wu released a statement on the initiative and called it a “major investment,” as it meets Boston’s goals of growth.
“I’m glad to see Gillette’s commitment to mixed-use, transit-oriented development that incorporates a climate resilience planning for the Fort Point Channel, and devotes half of the site to open space,” Wu said.
“My administration will continue to work closely with Gillette and the community through planning, design, and regulatory processes to ensure the details of this major investment best serve the community and are consistent with our goal of inclusive, resilient growth,” the mayor said.
Currently, the World Shaving Headquarters currently has about 1.5 million square feet of office, manufacturing, lab, warehouse and other spaces on its Fort Point Channel site. Gillette plans to keep its headquarters and innovation center in South Boston.
P&G had announced its manufacturing operations would transition to a 150-acre campus in Andover last fall, and has been in conversations with the community to help guide this new redevelopment project in the interest of South Boston.
Parts of Gillette’s Fort Point property have also been sold off to developers in recent years, including space for Eli Lilly & Co.’s brand-new research and development center on Necco Street, and others, the Boston Business Journal noted.
Next steps include P&G’s submission of a master plan to the Planning Board, and the company will host an in-person site tour in September.
A website has been dedicated to the project for the public to follow, and the BPDA is looking for nominations for an Impact Advisory Group on the redevelopment. There will also be a series of community meetings in the fall.
