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Hasbro Movin’ On Up – Pawtucket Mayor “broken-hearted” (Updated)
Today, Hasbro, Inc., a leading games, IP, and toy company, announced it will relocate its Rhode Island operations to 400 Summer Street in Boston’s Seaport District. This new location will be the primary headquarters for Hasbro’s toys, board games, and licensing businesses, and a majority of its corporate services.
Foundation Medicine is the main occupier, and they are involved in cancer research. Retailer Lululemon is on the ground floor. Hasbro did not indicate how many workers who work in Pawtucket and live in Rhode Island will be moving up – or out. 700 employees, from Rhode Island, are expected to occupy the 7 floors of the new headquarters. Hasbro employs over 5,000 people, total, including space on the West Coast centered on their gaming businesses.
This strategic move positions the company to accelerate innovation, attract top talent, and drive long-term growth in line with Hasbro’s Playing to Win strategy which emphasizes play-driven engagement and collaboration with partners.
The 400 Summer Street facility, developed and owned by WS Development, will house teams that power some of the world’s most iconic brands, occupying seven floors, of the 16, total, across 265,000 square feet. The new space will be home to at least 700 full-time employees expected to transition from Rhode Island to Boston by the end of 2026.
WS Development owns both Garden City Center in Cranston and The Crossing at Smithfield in Smithfield, RI.
Governor of Massachusetts Maura Healey said about the relocation: “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.â€
It was not disclosed what, if any, tax incentives or financial assistance was offered by the state of Massachusetts, but the Boston Globe reports “$14 million in tax credits”, “$20,000 per job… over multiple years”. Both Hasbro and Gov. Healey posted on X, just seconds from each other:
“I’m delighted to welcome Hasbro to its new home in Boston,†said Mayor Michelle Wu. “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.†Wu also said the move shows companies want to move to where their employees want to live.
Other companies recently announcing their move to Boston are Eli Lilly and LEGO.
While Hasbro is establishing a new home in Boston, the company’s ties to Rhode Island remain strong.
In 2024 alone, Hasbro contributed over $1 million in product and in-kind donations to local Rhode Island organizations, including long-standing partners like Hasbro Children’s Hospital and the Rhode Island Special Olympics. The company plans to continue to support Hasbro Children’s Hospital with annual donations and will keep recruiting from Rhode Island’s colleges and universities—honoring the legacy of the Hassenfeld family’s deep roots in the state. For more than a century, Hasbro has grown alongside the community, and that commitment continues today.
Photo: Ann Clanton, for RINewsToday
The announcement follows the closure of the downtown Providence building with a dramatic taking down of a rotating logo sign on top of the building. The Pawtucket building on Newport Avenue is valued at over $20M and owned by Hasbro. Ideas for its development have included affordable housing, housing/retail mix, corporate offices, residential (homes) development.
In addition to its new East Coast facility, on the West Coast, Hasbro’s Renton, WA office serves as the headquarters for the Gaming and Digital businesses. This Seattle-based hub is already home to legendary franchises like Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, as well as Hasbro’s expanding digital gaming and technology operations. The office, located in the scenic Southport area on Lake Washington, is currently home to more than 500 employees and growing. Hasbro currently occupies 111,000 square feet across three floors.
“Boston’s thriving business community, deep academic partnerships and cultural vibrancy, together with our Seattle team’s leadership in technology, creativity, and innovation, give Hasbro an unparalleled foundation for growth,†said Chris Cocks, CEO, Hasbro. “Together, these offices will fuel the next chapter of Hasbro.â€
Hasbro is building a structure that strengthens speed, agility, and innovation. Boston and Seattle are two of the nation’s leading innovation and tech centers, serving as talent magnets that will help Hasbro harness the full power of the company’s portfolio and unlock growth in both physical and digital play.
With locations anchoring the East and West Coasts of the U.S., Hasbro is reinforcing its position as a global company with a footprint to match. Beyond Boston and Renton, Hasbro operates campuses and manufacturing sites across the broader U.S., as well as major offices in Hong Kong, London, Mexico City, and Montreal. Each plays a critical role in the company’s creative pipeline, digital innovation, and operations. These locations strengthen Hasbro’s ability to deliver world-class brands and experiences to fans and families around the globe.
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How would you get there from here?
For those new or existing employees who would go to Boston, the commute, other than driving would be approximately 1 1/2 hours, without traffic problems that delay public transport, and would look like this:
- Get to the new train station in Pawtucket – unclear how many employees live in RI and where they live
- Take the train to South Station – approx. 1 hour, 10 minutesÂ
- Transfer to the Silver Line – 5-10 minutes
- Take Silver Line to Summer Street – a direct line – 5-10 minutes
- Walk to 400 Summer Street – 2-5 minutes
By car from Pawtucket: 95 North to 93 South to Exit 16 (Seaport) to Summer St. exit. Look for parking, on-street very limited, with 2 hour limits. Use Channel Center garage or Seaport garage. There is a 3-level underground parking area at the building, itself, accommodating approx. 328 cars – unclear if Hasbro will pay for parking, but that seems likely, at least in part. Rates listed are: Up to $42 daily maximum (Mon–Fri, 5 AM–4 PM) – After 4 PM on weekdays and all day weekends: $22 flat
Commute time: approximately 45 miles, 55 minutes with absolutely no traffic. 5 minute walk from parking lots. Typical on work day: 1 hour, 45 mins.
Public transportation if you live in, say, Cambridge:
Red Line to South Station – repeat as above for RI commuters – time: 25-40 minutes
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Reaction from Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien:
We are deeply disappointed that after more than 100 years of success here in Pawtucket, RI, Hasbro has decided to move its corporate headquarters to Boston.
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.
Rhode Island House Minority Leader Michael Chippendale offered the following statement:
“Once again, Rhode Island is left watching a major legacy company leave our state despite costly efforts to lure and retain businesses with taxpayer-funded incentive packages. This cycle repeats itself because our leaders fail to focus on improving our dismal, bottom-ranking business climate. Instead, we continue to try to compete in niche sector arenas where we cannot win against our larger neighbors, like Massachusetts.
We must stop chasing corporations with taxpayer-funded giveaways, focus on correcting what is driving this exodus, and improve our business climate for those that have invested in our state. Good jobs for our residents and building a solid tax base depends on thoughtful action now. It requires leaders willing to change the status quo — that will fight for reform, not just talk about it while clutching their pearls.
It is time that Rhode Island accepts the reality of our geography. Our strength is on the water. With a world-class deep-water port at Quonset, our naval heritage, and a growing defense and shipbuilding sector, we have assets that cannot be replicated elsewhere in New England. We should focus our strategy and investment on strengthening Rhode Island’s role in maritime commerce, naval research, and defense manufacturing. That is how we create lasting jobs, expand our tax base, and build an economy that plays to our strengths.â€
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RI Governor Dan McKee issued the following statement regarding Hasbro’s decision to relocate:
“Hasbro has made positive contributions in business and philanthropy in our state, and we thank them for that. We maintain that Rhode Island is the best place for Hasbro to call home, and many more companies agree with that sentiment.
“Under my administration, we’ve created more than 36,000 private sector jobs—an 8.8 percent increase—and over 6 million square feet of new development in Quonset, the I-195 Redevelopment District, and Amazon alone. We continue to attract and grow companies in innovative industries like ocean technology, life sciences, offshore wind, defense, cybersecurity, AI, logistics, and more. Here’s just a fraction of our progress:
- Fidelity Investments — over 2,000 jobs already created
- Amazon — 1,500 jobs already created
- Breeze Airways — over 200 jobs already created, increasing to 400 jobs over 10 years
- REGENT — 300 jobs over 10 years
- Organogenesis – 103 jobs over 4 years
- Anduril – 100 jobs over 4 years
- Blount Fine Foods — 120 jobs over 3 years
- Flux Marine – 380 jobs over 10 years
- Saab – 45 jobs over 10 years
- Vatn Systems’ new HQ at Unity Park – 228 jobs over 10 years
- Norpak – 75 jobs over 4 years
“Today’s announcement does not impede Rhode Island’s growth or economic success. Make no mistake: we are continuing to build on our progress and deliver good jobs for Rhode Islanders.â€
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About Hasbro
Hasbro is a leading games, IP and toy company whose mission is to create joy and community through the magic of play. With over 164 years of expertise, Hasbro delivers groundbreaking play experiences and reaches over 500 million kids, families and fans around the world, through physical and digital games, video games, toys, licensed consumer products, location-based entertainment, film, TV and more. Through its franchise-first approach, Hasbro unlocks value from both new and legacy IP, including MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, MONOPOLY, HASBRO GAMES, NERF, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH and PEPPA PIG, as well as premier partner brands. Powered by its portfolio of thousands of iconic marks and a diversified network of partners and subsidiary studios, Hasbro brings fans together wherever they are, from tabletop to screen. For more than a decade, Hasbro has been consistently recognized for its corporate citizenship, including being named one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens by 3BL Media, a 2025 JUST Capital Industry Leader, one of the 50 Most Community-Minded Companies in the U.S. by the Civic 50, and a Brand that Matters by Fast Company.
For more information, visit https://corporate.hasbro.com or @Hasbro on LinkedIn.
In March of this year, our writer, John J. “Jack” Partridge wrote about what was needed to keep Hasbro in Rhode Island:
https://2×8.ea2.myftpupload.com/hasbro-now-everyone-is-an-expert-john-j-jack-partridge/
Image, top, AI.Â
This is a developing story.