Manufacturing
LEGO Group Picks Gray and Hourigan JV for $1B Virginia Plant Project
Toy maker also plans to move its Americas HQ to Boston
Lego used its own product to create a model of the planned 1.7-million-sq-ft manufacturing facility.
Photo courtesy of The Lego Group
The LEGO Group selected Gray|Hourigan, a joint venture of Gray Inc. and Richmond, Va.-based Hourigan, as general contractor for its $1-billion toy manufacturing plant project in Virginia.
The plans call for 13 buildings totaling 1.7 million sq ft on a 340-acre site in Chesterfield County, Va., outside Richmond. Denmark-based Lego said in a statement that it started site preparation work last year and has been refining the design with architect LS3P Associates Ltd. Construction of the plant buildings is planned to start later this year and production at the facility is scheduled to begin in 2027.
LEGO aims for facility operations to be carbon neutral. The scope of the project includes a ground and rooftop solar plant with a capacity between 20 and 25 MW. Lego said it plans to seek WELL and LEED Platinum certification for an office/administration building and LEED Gold for the rest of the facility, plus LEED Zero Energy and Water once it’s operational. The location was selected to be close to major markets and shorten supply chains, according to the company.
In a statement, Lego highlighted the contractors’ experience in manufacturing construction and green building certification. Lexington, Ky.-based Gray is the third largest contractor in the industrial sector on the 2023 ENR Top 400 Contractors list and No. 37 overall. Hourigan is ranked No. 326. Stephen Gray, president and CEO of Gray, said in a statement that the contractors are committed to “upholding the highest standards in environmental sustainability, diversity/equity and community engagement.”
Lego to Relocate U.S. Headquarters
As LEGO advances construction of the Virginia plant, it also is set to move its U.S. headquarters from Connecticut to Massachusetts.
The company announced last August that it had selected 100,000 sq ft over five floors of a new office building in Boston as the future home of its Americas business.
The office tower at 1001 Boylston St. is part of the $700-million dual high-rise development called Parcel 12, which sits beside and over the Massachusetts Turnpike, as ENR previously reported. Contractor Suffolk Construction built the tower for real estate developer Samuels & Assoc. Work on a plaza and retail space at the site is scheduled to continue through the spring.
LEGO says it plans to make the office move in 2026.
