SEVENTH GENERATION IS ANCHOR TENANT FOR LAKE & COLLEGE
Main Street Landing
Seventh Generation finds new home
Leslie Wright
Staff
The Burlington Free Press
Burlington company to move into waterfront office
By Leslie Wright
Eco-friendly household-products maker Seventh Generation Inc. plans to move to a new development on Burlington’s waterfront early next year.
The Burlington company has signed a seven-year lease with an option for two five-year extensions for a 30,000-square-foot office at the Lake and College Redevelopment Project, said Melinda Moulton, head of Main Street Landing Co., on Monday.
Seventh Generation will be moving a few blocks away from its current operations, which are scattered among three offices in the Maple and Battery street area, said Jeffrey Hollender, the company’s chief executive officer and president.
About 50 employees will move to three floors of the Lake and College building, accounting for 60 percent of the office space available in the 110,000-square-foot project at the corner of Lake and College streets.
The $13.5 million brick building features several facades and a varied roof line that evokes the look of a European village. Construction started in 2003, with the grand opening set for July 3. The building includes a performing arts theater, two-screen cinema, offices and space for retail shops.
The building is about 66 percent leased, Moulton said.
Hollender said the project was a good fit for his company. Moulton has taken steps to make the building energy efficient and eco-friendly, which meshes well with Seventh Generation’s mission.
“The building they have created is symbolic of what Seventh Generation stands for, that anything you do in any part of your life can be done in an environmentally responsible manner,” Hollender said.
Seventh Generation, which grew 40 percent last year and is expected to grow at least that much this year, was in need of new office space, and Hollender wanted to stay in Burlington. The company makes environmentally friendly household products including dish-washing detergent, diapers, paper towels and cleaning products.
“The only other option to this space was to go out of the city,” Hollender said.
Contact Leslie Wright at 660-1841 or lwright@bfp.burlingtonfreepress .com