Procter & Gamble disclosed that the company has listed for sale 6.5 acres of its Gillette campus in South Boston. The Cincinnati-based maker of consumer goods such as Gillette razors and shave gel owns more than 40 acres at the site in Massachusetts, which includes 24 buildings. That’s more than enough land for the needs of the company’s Gillette divisions, a spokeswoman said.
P&G hasn’t set a price for the parcel, but it’s likely to fetch millions of dollars. The company doesn’t have a specific use in mind for what might occupy the land. “We saw this as a great opportunity to make the most of a strong real estate market while enhancing the neighborhood,” P&G spokeswoman Kara Buckley said.
“We are very interested in seeing the vision from area developers,” Buckley told the Cincinnati Business Courier. “The zoning will enable a wide range of uses – office, residential, research & development and more…. The development will also bring new green space and views, which will be excellent for the community.” The listed property is now used for parking. It’s on the edge of the Gillette campus, near 2.7 acres that P&G previously sold to accommodate a new headquarters for General Electric.
This will likely be very intense process given the activism in South Boston in general, but also in the Fort Point neighborhood, which, in 2016, went through the experience of the proposal to conduct a Grand Prix Racing event through the streets. The civic groups and residences affected will be watching closely.
Gillette has occupied the site for more than 100 years, and P&G said the division will maintain a significance presence there. “We see a chance to build upon the Innovation District, bringing newcomers to the area that could strengthen the local economy,” Buckley said. “We also see potential for new commercial and residential buildings, new parks, new view corridors and more, making our neighborhood even more vibrant and attractive in the future,” she said.
The parcel P&G seeks to sell is bounded by A Street to the southeast, Binford Street and Gillette property to the southwest, Fort Point Channel to the northwest, and GE property and Garage Access Way to the northeast.
