Some sad news this week, as Hasbro has announced that it is moving to Boston from its longtime home in Rhode Island.
By the end of 2026, around 700 employees are expected to make the transition with the company to the new headquarters, located in Boston’s Seaport District at 400 Summer Street, where they will have seven floors across 265,000 square feet to play with.
"We are thrilled that Hasbro has chosen Massachusetts as the home of its new headquarters, and we're ready to support the hundreds of jobs they will create here. We're proud to welcome this iconic company to Team Massachusetts — where we are number one for education, health care and innovation. I’m grateful for the leadership of Chris Cocks and his team at Hasbro, and for the hard work of my economic development team that helped make this possible.” -- Governor Maura Healey
“I’m delighted to welcome Hasbro to its new home in Boston. The creativity and wonder at the heart of Hasbro’s work are also at the heart of our mission to make Boston a home for everyone—the safest major city in the country and the best place to raise a family, with opportunities for all to Connect(4) and Play(-Doh). We look forward to supporting Hasbro’s transition to Boston and partnership with the city.” -- Mayor Michelle Wu
Not everyone is celebrating, though. The Hassenfeld Brothers, Herman, Hillel, and Henry, founded the company in the city of Pawtucket all the way back in 1923, and it has been a staple of the community ever since, supporting the community by providing jobs, recruiting from the state's colleges and universities, and donating to local charities, such as the Hasbro Children’s Hospital and the Rhode Island Special Olympics, which they said they will continue to support.
Despite this, the Mayor of Pawtucket, Don Grebien, had this to say:
"While this decision was ultimately beyond our control, it is disheartening to see a company so deeply rooted in our community choose to turn its back on that history. This is a painful reality for the people of Pawtucket, who stood by Hasbro for over a century. We also empathize with the employees of Hasbro whose lives will be forever impacted by this decision. The City of Pawtucket did absolutely everything possible to keep Hasbro here."
"There is no question that our hearts are broken by this decision. However, when Pawtucket is faced with adversity, it strengthens our resiliency, and we come back even stronger."
According to
Boston Business Journal Executive Editor Doug Banks, the folks in Pawtucket were even willing to go so far as to offer the company an undeveloped parcel of land in Providence for the low, low price of $1 USD. You can't even get a BotBot for that cheap.
"They even as of last week, they were scrambling to offer economic incentives, but in the end, it wasn't enough," Banks explained.
"It's the economic center of all of New England. No other city in New England is going to compete with that. There's just a vibrancy in the area of deep talent and innovation that's going on here that doesn't happen anywhere else and companies just want to be a part of that." -- Doug Banks
Two
Transformers conventions would be held in Rhode Island, thanks to the company's ties to the area. The first,
BotCon 2007, included a tour of the company. The second,
HasCon 2017, would celebrate all of the company's brands. It would be the first as well as the last of its kind to date.
Time marches on, but this truly marks the end of an era.
Feel free to discuss this further in the comments below, or over in the "
Hasbr-uh-oh" thread in our forums!
Sources: Hasbro Newsroom,
CBS Boston (via Princess Viola)
