A 1.7 million-square-foot factory interior representation planned by Lego Group at Meadowville Technology Park. (Images courtesy of Lego Group)
It would take many Legos to build the important new facility that is planned for the last high-profile tenant of Meadowville Technology Park.
Lego Group, the global toy maker known for its brick-and-mortar assembly, plans to invest $ 1 billion to build a US-made plant in Chesterfield Industrial Park, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday morning. event held at the Virginia Science Museum.
The 1.7 million-square-foot facility is expected to create more than 1,760 jobs over time. Lego plans to start the project this year and finish construction in 2025, the same year that production at the factory is expected to begin.
The Chesterfield facility, which will be responsible for producing Lego bricks and packing kits, will be the seventh largest Lego factory in the world and the second in North America. The other is in Mexico.
A representation of the exterior of the factory that Lego Group plans to build.
The company’s investment in the Chesterfield plant is expected to take place over 10 years. The Lego site in Meadowville will also feature a solar-powered farm at the facility that is planned to manage the energy needed to power the factory.
The Chesterfield plant is expected to work to achieve its stated 10-year employment target, according to a press release. The company plans to hire 500 employees to operate a temporary packaging facility that will open in early 2024.
Chesterfield officials said they were not told who they were competing with for the project, and the project has been under construction for about seven months. Chesterfield’s director of economic development Garrett Hart said Meadowville’s existing infrastructure and available land made Chesterfield competitive in the process.
“It simply came to our notice then. These guys were just looking at people who could start this year and Meadowville has water, sewer and roads in place, ”Hart said.
Lego Group has 380 acres under contract at Meadowville Technology Park, where it plans to build its second factory in North America. The other factory is in Mexico. (Image courtesy of Chesterfield Economic Development)
The Lego plant will occupy a 340-acre site in Meadowville that the company has under contract. The site is located at the northern end of the park, east of Interstate 295 and is currently owned by the Chesterfield Economic Development Authority.
The sale is expected to close in late summer. Both Lego and Chesterfield refused to share the amount the company is expected to pay for the land.
The complex consists of multiple plots with a total valuation of at least $ 22 million, according to Chesterfield’s online property records. Some plots are straddling the southern boundary of the future Lego property on Meadowville Road, so it is unclear the exact assessed value of the land the company intends to purchase.
Lego was attracted to Virginia because of factors such as its workforce and transportation infrastructure, President and CEO Niels Christiansen said in a statement during the event. He said the growing demand for Lego kits has sparked interest in increasing the company’s manufacturing capacity.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday that toy maker Lego Group plans to build a manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County. (Photo by Jack Jacobs)
In addition to Youngkin and Christiansen, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Commerce Caren Merrick, Chesterfield Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Chris Winslow, Danish Ambassador to the United States Lone Dencker Wisborg and Director of Operations of Chesterfield Lego Carsten Rasmussen also shared comments on the event.
The Danish-based company has about 2,600 U.S. employees and U.S. operations are headquartered in Connecticut. The company operates 100 Lego stores in the United States.
Chesterfield worked with the Greater Richmond Association, the Virginia Economic Development Association and the General Assembly’s Investment and Employment Project Approval Commission to land the project, according to a statement from the Department of Economic Development. of the county. Lego will be eligible for a $ 56 million performance grant from MEI.
Lego spokespersons did not respond to a query about who will be the project’s architect and general contractor.