Gillette Acquires South Boston Site for $1B Technical Innovation Center

Life science real estate developer Breakthrough Properties has finalized the sale of its 232 A Street development site in South Boston to P&G Gillette, following Gillette’s previously announced plans to establish its new Grooming Headquarters and Technical Innovation Center at the site. Gillette plans to invest nearly $1 billion in the new facility.

Breakthrough, a joint venture of Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital, originally acquired the 2.4-acre site in 2021 for $80 million and subsequently secured approval for a 325,000-square-foot research and development campus with 1.5 acres of enhanced public realm, including a vibrant waterfront park on the Fort Point Channel.

Founded in Boston approximately 125 years ago, Gillette paid approximately $99,285,703 for the site. The sale was facilitated by Jonathan Varholak of CBRE.

“The sale of the fully approved 232 A Street development site to P&G Gillette underscores the enduring demand for best-in-class infill locations in the world’s leading innovation markets,” said Breakthrough Properties EVP and CIO Daniel D’Orazi. “We are proud of the thoughtful execution—from acquisition through design and entitlement—that positioned this prime waterfront site for its exciting next phase with P&G Gillette.”

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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