General Electric reached a deal Thursday to sell its 2.7-acre Fort Point Channel property for $252 million, and the state will make a profit from the transaction. The buyers, Alexandria Real Estate Equities and National Development, signed an agreement to purchase the buildings at 5 and 15 Necco Street from GE and MassDevelopment, a quasi-public agency. GE said in February it would reimburse the state nearly $87.4 million for incentives it received to move its headquarters to Boston. As part of an arrangement between GE and MassDevelopment, any proceeds exceeding the amount spent by both on the project would be split equally. The state is expected to receive an additional $11.2 million when the deal is finalized, for an approximately $98 million total. “We are looking forward to moving into our permanent headquarters space in the newly refurbished Necco brick buildings later this year,” Ann R. Klee, GE’s vice president for Boston development and operation, said in a statement Thursday. “We appreciate the support we’ve received from our partners, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston. We are fully committed to Boston and proud to call it home.” BOSTON, MA - MAY 9: GE Innovation Point is seen from across the Fort Point Channel on May 9, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald) BOSTON, MA - MAY 9: The Necco Street location for GE Innovation Point is seen on May 9, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald) BOSTON, MA - MAY 9: The Necco Street location for GE Innovation Point is seen on May 9, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald) BOSTON, MA - MAY 9: The Necco Street location for GE Innovation Point is seen on May 9, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald) BOSTON, MA - MAY 9: The Necco Street location for GE Innovation Point is seen on May 9, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald) GE signed a 12-year lease for the refurbished Necco brick buildings for its permanent HQ space that includes two brick buildings. The 95,000-square-foot buildings will house GE’s senior executive team and approximately 250 employees. “Massachusetts’ innovation economy continues to create high-quality jobs for the people of the Commonwealth, and the Baker-Polito Administration is thrilled to have GE’s World Headquarters here in Boston,” Lizzy Guyton, a spokeswoman for Gov. Charlie Baker, said in a statement. “This site offers a tremendous opportunity to continue to expand our presence in the top life science cluster in the world and to deliver an inclusive, collaborative and vibrant development,” an Alexandria spokesman said in a statement. “This strategic location will also enhance the ability of life science and technology companies to attract and retain the brightest talent that can solve the world’s biggest problems … We are excited to have GE’s headquarters onsite.”<doc-sep>General Electric’s plan to sell its would-be Fort Point headquarters site to a pair of developers in a $252 million deal could lead to a life sciences development in that Boston enclave. One of the two buyers, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, is well-known for life sciences projects and properties. The real estate investment trust’s tenants nationwide include Pfizer, EliLily, and GlaxoSmithKline. Alexandria also owns properties in Cambridge’s Kendall Square, which has basically filled up and has also priced out many prospective tenants—so much so that it’s become a kind of Boston-area parlor game guessing which areas of the region will become “the next Kendall Square.” Might Fort Point be among the ranks? Alexandria’s partner in the GE deal is National Development, which is probably best-known locally for the massive mixed-use Ink Block project in the South End. The GE deal, news of which broke May 9, does not mean that that diminished company will abandon Fort Point altogether. It still plans to move into two Necco Court buildings before 2020. The sale does mean that MassDevelopment, a quasi-public agency, will recoup the $87 million in state funds spent on luring GE’s HQ to Boston.<doc-sep>General Electric has struck a $252 million deal to sell the Seaport District property where it once planned to build a new Boston headquarters. The company will sell the land along the Fort Point Channel, as well as the permit to build a 12-story building there, to Alexandria Real Estate Equities, a developer that specializes in life science and technology clusters. Two other companies, National Development and Charles River Realty, are also partners in the deal. GE announced its intentions to sell the parcels in February, and agreed to use the proceeds to pay MassDevelopment, the state's economic development and finance agency, back for its $87 million investment in the site. The funding was part of the deal to bring the company to Boston. MassDevelopment will get an additional $11 million out of the sale. GE will remain on the site as a tenant, however. The company signed a 12-year lease for two former Necco buildings where it plans to house its senior executive team and some 250 employees. The company had originally promised to create 800 jobs at its Boston headquarters. But the historic conglomerate has struggled in recent years. GE has been scaling down operations, selling its oil and gas business, and spinning off a health care division. GE CEO Larry Culp has been tamping down expectations, warning that 2019 is likely to be a difficult year for the company. "This site offers a tremendous opportunity to continue to expand our presence in the top life science cluster in the world," Alexandria Real Estate Equities said in a statement about the acquisition, "and we are excited to have GE's headquarters on site."<doc-sep>
General Electric Co. finalized an agreement to sell its future Boston-based headquarters for $252 million, a company spokesperson confirmed on Thursday Alexandria Real Estate Equities and National Development signed an agreement to purchase the 2.7-acre Fort Point Channel campus from General Electric and MassDevelopment, three years after the state brought GE to the Necco Street site. General Electric will remain a tenant. “We are looking forward to moving into our permanent headquarters space in the newly refurbished Necco brick buildings later this year," said Ann R. Klee, vice president of development and operations in Boston for General Electric. "We appreciate the support we’ve received from our partners, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston. We are fully committed to Boston and proud to call it home.” Alexandria Real Estate Equities, a California-based life-sciences company, has 4.5 million square feet of space in Cambridge. The company has purchased property in South Boston surrounding the General Electric headquarters in the past year, according to Boston Business Journal, who first reported the sale. National Development, based in Newton, specializes in mixed-use development such as the Ink Block development in the South End. Earlier this year, Alexandria and National Development purchased a multi-story parking garage next to GE’s future campus for $81.1 million, BBJ reported. Neither Alexandria nor National Development officials returned calls from MassLive seeking comment. Massachusetts officials courted General Electric and provided funds upfront to bring their headquarters from Fairfield Connecticut, to Boston in 2016. General Electric bought a vacant 297,000-square-foot parcel and planned to develop a 12-story office on the campus, combining the two brick warehouses owned by the state. That never happened. In February, MassDevelopment and General Electric agreed to sell the Fort Point property. Under the new agreement, General Electric signed a 12-year lease for the refurbished Necco warehouses, about 95,000 square feet. The space includes a bistro and will house General Electric’s senior executive team and about 250 employees, a company spokesman said. Alexandria and National Development’s agreement to purchase the vacant parcel comes with the permits to construct a 12-story building. The agreement gives $86.9 million to MassDevelopment, state officials told MassLive. That’s roughly how much the quasi-public state agency provided upfront to bring the General Electric headquarters from Fairfield, Connecticut, to Boston in 2016, state officials tell MassLive. MassDevelopment will get an additional $11.2 million in the sale. The combined $98.1 million will be directed toward capital projects. “Massachusetts’ innovation economy continues to create high-quality jobs for the people of the Commonwealth," said Lizzy Guyton, spokeswoman for the governor’s office, "and the Baker-Polito Administration is thrilled to have GE’s World Headquarters here in Boston.”