Lego To Relocate Americas Headquarters To Boston
The Lego Group plans to move its Americas headquarters to Boston from Connecticut, the latest in a series of companies to leave the state.
The move will happen in phases from mid-2025 through the end of 2026, the toymaker said in an announcement Tuesday. It will move employees from two sites: its existing Americas headquarters in Enfield, Connecticut, and the Lego Education office in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood.
Lego hasn't identified an address for the new headquarters, saying it will begin a search for a new office location in "central Boston." It didn't disclose how many square feet it is looking to occupy.
The Enfield location, which opened in 1975 as a factory and warehouse before becoming an office, now houses 740 of Lego's 2,600 employees. The company's global headquarters is in Denmark.
“Boston is ranked one of the best cities in the world to attract and retain talent," Lego Group CEO Skip Kodak said in a statement. "This, along with its world-class academic institutions, skilled workforce and great quality of life makes it an ideal location for our US head office. We have exciting plans for the next phase of growth and hope we can retain many of our current team, as well as attract new colleagues.”
Lego expanded operations in Enfield in 2013 by adding another 89K SF of office space, bringing its footprint there to almost 300K SF at the Enfield Business Park, owned by Hackman Capital Partners and Calare Properties.
Employees based in Enfield will receive relocation assistance if they make the move to Boston, and other employees that choose not to relocate will be given financial support and job placement assistance as they transition out of the company, Lego said.
In June, the toymaker announced plans to invest more than $1B to build its first U.S. factory in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Construction on the factory will begin this year and is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Lego isn't the only company to relocate out of Connecticut in recent years. Earlier this month, Campbell Soup Co. made plans to close its Norwalk, Connecticut, corporate office as part of a larger office consolidation and $500M expansion in Camden, New Jersey.
In 2018, Fairfield County struggled as companies like Starwood Property Trust began to leave, and it saw office vacancies reach 24%. The county's previous largest employer, General Electric, left the state after 40 years, relocating to Boston's Seaport District in 2016.
State officials aren't happy with the latest corporate move but say they are confident it isn't part of a larger issue in attracting and retaining companies.
“Based on my conversations this morning with LEGO’s leadership, their move is motivated not by any Connecticut policy but rather LEGO’s desire to consolidate their business operations near the company’s Education Office and to enhance their partnership with MIT,” Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said in a statement.
UPDATE, JAN. 24, 2:55 P.M. ET: This story has been updated with new details on Lego's Connecticut office and a statement from Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont.
