GE and the Massachusetts Development Finance Authority today filed their formal plans for the company's new headquarters on Fort Point Channel that will include extensive renovations to two old candy buildings and construction of a new 12-story glass building.
In a filing with the BRA, GE says it hopes to begin roughly 15 months of renovation and construction this spring. In addition to the BRA, the state Department of Environmental Protection will also have to approve the project due to its location on former tidelands along Fort Point Channel.
The new buildings will house roughly 800 GE employees along with "extensive indoor and outdoor public space" that will include space for tinkerers, public "work lounges," classrooms and a two-story museum. The company will widen the Harborwalk along the channel. Also:
To emphasize GE’s commitment to transparency and collaboration, a "vertical village," a glass enclosed core of activity, will connect GE employees and building visitors across floors and teams, encouraging seamlessness and providing a literal window into GE for passers-by.
The buildings will have "vegetated green roofs" and solar panels; they will also be designed to withstand a "500-year flood" of the sort expected with higher sea levels due to climate change. This includes putting key electrical and mechanical services above the ground floor, "adaptive landscaping" to soak up water and "walls, walkways, stairways, and railings will also be designed to withstand saltwater inundation."
The new campus will have only 30 permanent parking spaces; GE says it will work with existing garages in the area to provide spaces for building workers.
GE project notification form (39M PDF).