Lego to move HQ to Boston (Springfield, Cambridge: homes, neighborhood, buy)

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

Again, sprawl is not sustainable. If you complain about traffic, don't propose more car centric development. Thousands and thousands of units have fallen through due to NIMBYism in Greater Boston. I see no other solution then smart cities and sustainable, well thought out, development.

We have the incentives, they vary by state... my point is, if you are worried about getting priced out of Greater Boston, then don't vote against your self interests and future.

Using my S Weymouth example, I have a good feeling most locals would support further development if the state funded water hookup to the MWRA, improved commuter rail and roads, as well as education for the additional students. It's mostly a welcoming town (it's not Concord or Lexington...), it even sounds like the mayor is on board. Yet if the state stands by and does nothing while leaving the town to deal with those problems on its own, then of course locals are going to vote no on it as it will have negative direct effect on them and "why should they sacrifice more to help the region's housing crisis when they're already doing 10X more than neighboring Hingham?".

[msRB311]

I for one am not happy about more HQ's coming to Boston mainly because we have enough. On top of that it just makes the area more overpopulated (more traffic and packed public transit) and then greedy people who want to tear sh*t down and build new houses/developments. Schools get more packed. Enough.

I think part of it no one wants to be in CA or NYC anymore. MA is headed in the CA direction though. At least CA has nice weather all year.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by massnative71

I can't imagine those existing employees jumping up and down about having to relocate to the Boston area, save for maybe the highest level executives that probably already have a condo in Back Bay or Seaport for all we know.

Seems like this is part of the reason Lego is giving it several years. I imagine they'll be pretty heavily incentivized (the Globe article mentions relocation assistance, I'm sure there's more) to relocate. But I'd wager the 3 years will also allow Lego to get a clearer picture of what the workforce looks like and decide whether they'll allow some/many to stay put and work remotely. If remote work is the norm in 2026, especially at the executive and senior executive levels, the Boston HQ could have a small physical footprint and a scattered workforce. But if there's been more of a shift to in-person work, the point may be moot. It's not exactly like the Hartford-Springfield area is teeming with other opportunities for those who might not want to be excited to move to Boston.

[msRB311]

There's also quite a few layoffs happening in the area so it will be interesting to see what happens there. People may take that as an opportunity to move. Google, Wayfair, EMD Serono, Tufts medicine to name a few.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I for one am not happy about more HQ's coming to Boston mainly because we have enough. On top of that it just makes the area more overpopulated (more traffic and packed public transit) and then greedy people who want to tear sh*t down and build new houses/developments. Schools get more packed. Enough.

I think part of it no one wants to be in CA or NYC anymore. MA is headed in the CA direction though. At least CA has nice weather all year.

CA is a huge state, highly variable weather. A good chunk of it receives more snow than we could imagine.

There is not such thing as enough economic activity.

Public school enrollment has declined in MA over the last twenty years+, being packed shouldn't be an issue. Perhaps in time, like VT currently, overcapacity will be. Private school enrollment dropped about 20% in the same period, so its not a shift.

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Using my S Weymouth example, I have a good feeling most locals would support further development if the state funded water hookup to the MWRA, improved commuter rail and roads, as well as education for the additional students. It's mostly a welcoming town (it's not Concord or Lexington...), it even sounds like the mayor is on board. Yet if the state stands by and does nothing while leaving the town to deal with those problems on its own, then of course locals are going to vote no on it as it will have negative direct effect on them and "why should they sacrifice more to help the region's housing crisis when they're already doing 10X more than neighboring Hingham?".

Well, yes. But a lot of these towns/cities aren't citing these reasons as why residents don't want these developments. This is a very specific example. Im more or less talking about the Quincy's, Belmonts, Cambridge, Brooklines and Concords/Lexingtons. TOD towns or cities that are vastly underbuilt/sprawled/arent keeping up or pulling their weight.

[msRB311]

FWIW Lego did have a bit of a footprint here with the play land thing in Somerville.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by msRB311

FWIW Lego did have a bit of a footprint here with the play land thing in Somerville.

IIRC, the giraffe out front of the LegoLand in Somerville was designed and built by a team at the Enfield location. That;s where all the full-size Lego statues and such are built, so that entity will be moving to Boston in addition to regular corporate folks.

Lego Education has also been in Boston since 2016, with about 75 people there. So LEGO's footprint in Boston is expanding.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

Well, yes. But a lot of these towns/cities aren't citing these reasons as why residents don't want these developments. This is a very specific example. Im more or less talking about the Quincy's, Belmonts, Cambridge, Brooklines and Concords/Lexingtons. TOD towns or cities that are vastly underbuilt/sprawled/arent keeping up or pulling their weight.

What??? Those bolded cities/towns are already either super developed and/or punching way above their weight when it comes to "keeping up". The problem is they are carrying all the weight themselves right now, which is not sustainable. More towns need to step up to the plate. Towns like Concord are probably beyond hope, but for every on of those there is a Weymouth or even a Westborough who are far more likely to be part of the solution if the state said "hey we're here to work with you and help you fight this battle that we are all part of" vs. "do as we say or we will f#$% you even harder than we already are".

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

Lego Education has also been in Boston since 2016, with about 75 people there. So LEGO's footprint in Boston is expanding.

Lego Education is also more closely tied in to Lego's corporate work than the Discovery Centers. The latter are mostly retail/service outlets which employ retail/service workers. There are many of them across the country. Lego Education has a government and public relations arm in addition to a STEM development function and community outreach/engagement arm - all of which has reach across North and South America. I'm not sure how it'll tie into the new HQ when it arrives here in Boston, but I wouldn't be surprised if they shared the same space.