Hasbro to move 350 workers to new downtown premises

By Patrick Anderson
PBN Staff Writer
Twitter: @andersonpbn

PROVIDENCE – The rotating blue cube attached to the top of 15 LaSalle Square last week signaled the arrival of new corporate presence in downtown Providence.

Hasbro Inc. will move 350 workers into the former 135,000-square foot office building formerly occupied by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island on Jan. 2.

The Pawtucket-based toymaker is moving workers to Providence in departments including packaging design, domestic sales and marketing, global operations and domestic licensing, said Hasbro spokesman Wayne Charness.

The sales and marketing group will be the largest in the new offices, which are bring opened to relieve crowding in the company’s Pawtucket and East Providence offices.

“We were definitely running out of space in Pawtucket and East Providence and when we did a tour of the state to figure out the best solution, Providence came to the top of the list,” Charness said.

Renovation of the building, which is owned by Berkeley Investments of Boston, was estimated at $24 million, Charness said.