Move over, BRA. MassDevelopment, not the Boston Redevelopment Authority, will own the two older brick buildings in Fort Point that will be part of the new headquarters complex for General Electric Co.
GE had originally planned to work directly with the BRA to redevelop two six-story vacant buildings on Necco Court in Boston’s Fort Point section. Those buildings would need to be owned by a public agency in order to receive funds from a state grant program that was part of the incentive package Massachusetts officials offered GE to move here. The company would own a new larger structure next door that it plans to build.
While it was originally thought the BRA would eventually own the two older buildings, state and city officials Thursday said MassDevelopment would become the landlord instead and lease them to GE. The main reason: streamlining bureaucracy.
Jay Ash, the state’s secretary of housing and economic development, oversees the state grant program that would subsidize the property, and also chairs the board of MassDevelopment. Because state funds are involved, Ash said it would be easier for MassDevelopment to handle the logistics of getting the buildings ready for GE.
State officials are still negotiating their incentive package with GE, Ash said, but he expects the eventual size to be between $80 million and $120 million. The money, among other things, would be used to acquire the two dilapidated Necco buildings and help improve the properties. The city of Boston has also offered up to $25 million in property tax breaks to the company.
To develop its new headquarters, GE plans to buy an approximately 2.5-acre section of the northern end of Gillette’s Fort Point campus. GE would keep the portion where the new building would go up, while MassDevelopment would immediately buy the two Necco buildings and an area that would be devoted to open space, including a waterfront park. Those transfers are expected to take place later this summer or in the fall.
The goal: to have a new headquarters open in 2018 at the site. In the meantime, GE has chosen temporary digs on nearby Farnsworth Street and expects to move as many as 200 people there in August, primarily from GE’s current headquarters in Fairfield, Conn. Eventually, as many as 800 people are expected to work in the new headquarters in Boston.
GE officials say the three-building complex in Fort Point would total about 300,000 square feet. The company has hired architectural firm Gensler to design the new headquarters, although it has not yet picked a general contractor to oversee the construction.
John Barros, Boston’s economic development chief, said the decision to move the Necco buildings’ ownership to MassDevelopment instead of the BRA was a mutual one. “Because the state is supplying the money on this, having a state agency do this makes a lot of sense,’’ Barros said.
GE spokeswoman Susan Bishop issued a statement saying the company also supported the move.
“The City and State came to us with an alternative approach to the ownership structure that all parties agree will be more streamlined and efficient,’’ Bishop said. “This is a complicated transaction and we are pleased that everyone is working to find the best approach.’’
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jonchesto.
