Hartford Business Journal

8 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARy 20, 2023 By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com C onnecticut economic develop- ment leaders were caught a bit off guard by LEGO Group's Jan. 24 announcement that it's moving its North American headquar- ters and about 740 jobs from Enfield to Boston by 2026. Now, officials are hoping to develop a better early warning and prevention system. "I honestly don't know if there is any particular action we could have taken that would have changed the outcome, but I think we are going to do a careful postmortem and sort of self-reflection to make sure that we are thinking about what might be other leading indicators of companies that could be a flight risk," said Peter Denious, CEO of Advance CT, a nonprofit economic development organization that works with the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to retain and recruit businesses. LEGO appears to have charted a course out of Connecticut long ago. The Danish company had been cutting back its presence and hundreds of jobs in Connecticut for decades. In 2000, LEGO announced it would move manufacturing from Enfield to Juarez, Mexico, leaving behind headquarters staff and an operation that packaged toy bricks imported from Europe, according to the company. The Enfield packaging plant closed in 2007, with its functions also relo- cating to Juarez, according to LEGO. In June, LEGO announced a return of manufacturing to America. It would build a modern, $1-billion, 1.7 million- square-foot factory that will employ 1,760 people — in Virginia. That prompted phone calls from Gov. Ned Lamont and staff at DECD, the MetroHartford Alliance and AdvanceCT. All were worried about what this meant for LEGO's 740-employee American headquar- ters in Enfield. "Obviously, we were not happy over the summer about the news they were moving a manufacturing facility to Virginia," said DECD Commissioner Alexandra Daum. "That was not a good sign, and so we were trying to stay in further touch with the company to see if that was a sign of further moves to come. So, it was on the radar, something we were keeping our eye on." Daum said discussions never got to the point where the state made a comprehensive incentives pitch to keep LEGO's headquarters in Enfield. Denious said LEGO didn't mention plans to relocate its headquarters in conversations that followed the Virginia project announcement. Accordingly, there was no discussion about accommodations that could be LEGO 'Postmortem' CT economic development officials search for answers following Danish toymaker's pending exit Catherine Scangarella, recently hired as executive vice president of business retention and expansion at AdvanceCT (left), with Peter Denious, CEO of the economic development nonprofit. HBJ PHOTO | MICHAEL PUFFER What's next for LEGO's Enfield headquarters property? By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com L EGO leases a little more than half of a 550,555-square-foot property at 100 Print Shop Road in Enfield, which is owned by Winstanley Enterprises. Adam Winstanley, a prin- cipal of Massachusetts-based Winstanley Enterprises, said LEGO's move shouldn't come as much of a shock. "LEGO has been winding down operations for a long time in Enfield," Winstanley said, adding he doesn't expect the vacancy created by the toymaker's exit to remain for long. LEGO said it plans to relocate 740 employees from its Enfield headquarters to Boston by 2026. Winstanley said he is planning a multimillion-dollar renovation of the nearly 50-year-old building upon LEGO's exit. That will include hollowing out LEGO's side of the building and getting it ready for industrial use. Winstanley said he will upgrade sprinklers and convert to LED lighting throughout the building. He also plans to add new docks. Given its proximity to major highways and labor pools around Springfield and Hartford, Winstanley said he believes LEGO's space will fill quickly. "Enfield has been a location a lot of our clients like," Winstanley said. "I've been investing in Connecticut projects since 1994. I'm very confident the building and its loca- tion will attract new users, either manufacturing or distribution." Adam Winstanley A look inside LEGO's Enfield headquarters property at 100 Print Shop Road. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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