Groton shipyard Electric Boat has bought the former Macy’s department store in Waterford’s Crystal Mall.
It says the site provides space for the company to expand its engineering, training and laboratory work in support of Columbia- and Virginia-class submarine production.
Approximately 700 Electric Boat employees are expected to work at this Waterford location. The 121,000-square-foot building sits on a 7.4-acre plot of land just over five miles from Electric Boat’s Groton waterfront shipyard.
The company also cites ample parking and easy access to local businesses as benefits of the location.
“Over the past two years, we successfully worked with the Navy, Congress and the administration to secure funds that enable us to increase wages for the nuclear-powered vessel workforce and allow for significant additional investments in capacity, shipyard processes and systems,” said Mark Rayha, president of General Dynamics Electric Boat. This acquisition is another example of effectively leveraging those funds to move important support functions out of the shipyard and maximize the production value of our waterfront footprint.”
It’s the latest in a string of acquisitions by the yard. In recent months it has bought land in North Stonington, CT, to build a 480,000-square-foot warehouse, a commercial lot at 435 Thames Street in Groton, and the former Garbo Lobster property at 415 Thames Street, Groton, CT
Electric Boat says it continues to assess opportunities across its region to expand its footprint in support of the Navy’s need for nuclear submarines.
