A new Hasbro headquarters at Apex? Pawtucket leaders scramble for ideas
by: Eli Sherman
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — Pawtucket leaders are holding onto hope that Hasbro will keep its headquarters in the city, even as a growing number of Rhode Island leaders strongly hint the toymaker would prefer a new location.
The behind-the-scenes scramble for ideas to keep Hasbro in the city spilled out publicly Wednesday when Pawtucket Foundation executive director Gaetan Kashala floated the idea of offering Hasbro the former Apex site as its new headquarters.
It’s the latest development since Hasbro executives confirmed last week they’re seeking to relocate and have been exploring new space in the Greater Boston area. The company has been headquartered in Rhode Island for more than century. It generated $5 billion in revenue last year and employs about 1,000 people locally.
“Hasbro as a company has a responsibility to explore what’s the best option for them, what’s the best option for their shareholders, what’s the best option for their employees,” Kashala told 12 News.
“What we’re looking for is to make an argument for Pawtucket and the Apex building as the perfect place for them them to continue to grow and evolve and have such support from all the stakeholders here in Rhode Island,” he added.
But the Apex idea — first reported by The Boston Globe — comes with a host of complications. The city just announced Tuesday it had received four proposals from companies to redevelop the 14-acre site following an open competitive bidding process.
Remaining in Pawtucket hasn’t appeared to be a top priority for Hasbro leaders so far in their conversations with state leaders, multiple people familiar with the matter have told Target 12. CEO Chris Cocks told employees last week their Pawtucket headquarters was “showing its age.”
“We are looking to find a space that allows for collaboration, design, and showcases who we are and what we stand for,” he wrote in a memo. “A space that is accessible to our teams and our partners.”
A Hasbro spokesperson declined to comment Wednesday on the Apex idea.
Gov. Dan McKee and House Speaker Joe Shekarchi met with Cocks on Thursday, and their public comments have since suggested a focus on keeping Hasbro in Rhode Island, even if it’s not Pawtucket.
“We’re looking at this as a state business and a state asset,” Shekarchi told reporters after the meeting. “We’d love to have them stay in Pawtucket, if possible, but if they can’t stay we’d love to have them stay in the state of Rhode Island.”
Before the meeting with Cocks, McKee issued a statement standing by Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien and saying “the state and city will absolutely pursue all options to maintain Hasbro’s presence in Pawtucket.” But the governor’s tone changed slightly after the meeting.
“Our goal is to keep that new headquarters in Rhode Island,” McKee said Tuesday during a live interview on 12 News at 4. “Pawtucket, preferably, but Rhode Island in general.”
The governor also acknowledged that while his team had been having internal meetings to develop a presentation for Hasbro, he hadn’t yet met with Pawtucket officials, saying that would happen “very shortly.” (McKee’s office announced late Wednesday that the governor will be vacationing out of state starting Thursday, with plans to return on Oct. 5.)
Congressman Seth Magaziner told 12 News he also spoke with Cocks last week. In a statement, Magaziner said he and the rest of the congressional delegation is “committed to doing whatever I can to support the state’s effort to ensure that Hasbro continues to thrive in Rhode Island.” He made no mention of Pawtucket.
“While I won’t discuss details of private conversations, I underscored the importance of giving Rhode Island the time necessary to develop a plan to meet Hasbro’s needs and highlighted the fact that hundreds of Hasbro employees and the families currently live in Rhode Island,” Magaziner said.
“A move to another state would no doubt be disruptive to their lives and to their work for the company,” he added.
Meanwhile, Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce President Laurie White told Boston Globe columnist Dan McGowan over the weekend that she thought McKee, Shekarchi and Providence Mayor Brett Smiley should pitch Hasbro on a new corporate headquarters on the former I-195 land in downtown Providence.
“The building would be designed to take full advantage of the waterfront views and outdoor working spaces that create an open, collaborative, welcoming vibe,” White said. “That could be a magnet for creative talent seeking work-life balance.”
Those suggestions aren’t sitting well with leaders in Pawtucket.
Kashala took issue with White’s comments, saying he doubted the former I-195 land has enough space still available that could accommodate a new corporate campus for Hasbro.
Making his pitch for Pawtucket, Kashala said the Apex site is conveniently located near I-95, the new Providence-Boston commuter rail station and Tidewater Landing, which is where Fortuitous Partners is building a new minor-league soccer stadium for Rhode Island FC.
“We think Hasbro, as a longtime anchor in Pawtucket, has an opportunity here to double down and help and play a critical role in us achieving the promise of Pawtucket,” he said. “The key thing is to get all the stakeholders at the table and have a conversation.”
So far, though, Hasbro executives haven’t prioritized hearing Pawtucket’s pitch. Grebien was notably absent from state leaders’ meeting last week with Cocks, even though he had said beforehand that he expected to participate.
Grebien spokesperson Grace Voll declined to comment Wednesday on whether the mayor had met yet with Cocks, saying, “our team is in the process of setting up time with his team.”
“Hoping to have something on the books for next week,” she added.
Asked whether the mayor supported Kashala’s idea of offering up the Apex site, Voll said that “the city’s approach remains open.” But she acknowledged the proposal is complicated by the fact that the city has already spent months recruiting other businesses to redevelop the site.
“Naturally, these all came in before we were made aware Hasbro was considering relocating,” Voll said. “Whether or not that can take place at the former Apex site is all up in the air at this moment, as the evaluation committee has not yet met.”
Pawtucket leaders have good reason to be concerned about Hasbro leaving.
Beyond being an iconic toymaker with a long history in Pawtucket, Hasbro is a significant source of tax revenue in the city, paying $1.3 million in municipal property and tangible taxes last year. By contrast, the new soccer stadium owners agreed to pay on average about $500,000 per year in tangible and property taxes over 20 years.
It would also leave another massive hole to the city’s identity, coming just a few years after the Pawtucket Red Sox moved to Worcester.
Mashala said “it would be a shame” to lose Hasbro — not just because of the financial benefits, but because the company has been a great partner to the community for so long.
“We want to maintain Hasbro as that partner in really helping to set up Pawtucket as an economic and cultural center of influence in Rhode Island,” he said.
“We have big ambitions for Pawtucket,” he added. “We feel like it’s a city with a lot of talented people. The bones of the city are pretty strong. Now, it’s just about building and executing on these developments that are in the pipeline.”
Eli Sherman (esherman@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook.
Ted Nesi, Jake Holter and Kim Kalunian contributed to this report.