The endeavor, which will allow the company to increase its manufacturing capacity by about 180%, carries a price tag of $132 million. The cost includes infrastructural upgrades.

Located across the Elizabeth River from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, USG occupies a 70-acre parcel just a stone's throw from the border separating Norfolk and Chesapeake. USG's existing building will not undergo a full-fledged demolition, but a "rebuilding," USG's Robert Williams explains to GlobeSt.com. "The nature of the project is to dismantle the existing plant and build a new one. Some of the plant's structure will stay in place." The square footage of the building will remain nearly the same.

While USG has a long history in Norfolk, the company also looked beyond the Commonwealth of Virginia when plotting this expansion effort; sites in Maryland and South Carolina were also considered. "The fact that a major Fortune 500 company is making this kind of commitment is one more indication of Norfolk's growing reputation as a great place to do business," Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim says in a statement.