LEGO Education HQ Now Officially in Boston

LEGO Education’s headquarters is at 501 Boylston St. Credit: Nathan Fried-Lipski/Nate Photography

BOSTON—The big corporate headquarters move to the city prior to General Electric’s announcement in January of this year was LEGO Education North America ‘s planned move from Kansas to the Back Bay. On Tuesday, company officials joined more than 100 city and business dignitaries, including Boston Mayor Martin Walsh , as well as local students, in cutting the ribbon on its new corporate headquarters on the fourth floor at 501 Boylston St . here. The company and more than 40 employees took occupancy of its more than 20,000 square feet of new space at the historic 501 Boylston St. building in Boston. The firm has stated that it hopes to bring employment levels to approximately 75 workers in the next four to seven years. The company announced in October of last year it would relocate to Boston from its long-time corporate headquarters in Pittsburg, KA. Colin Gillespie , president of LEGO Education North America, says, “We are truly humbled by the amount of support we have received already since announcing that we were coming to Boston. We hope that this space can be a place that fosters long-lasting relationships and has a real impact on students both locally and nationwide. At LEGO Education, we strive to create lifelong learners and believe this office will bring us closer to that goal.” Gillespie tells Globest.com that the company studied cities in the Midwest and in New England before deciding to shift its headquarters to Boston. He adds that some of the key factors in its decision were the educational cluster that exists in the Back Bay as well as the proximity to LEGO Systems Inc. office in Enfield, CT and access to its global headquarters in Billund, Denmark. He estimates that there are as many as 50 education companies within 400-500 yards of the company’s new headquarters. Being in that education cluster “is certainly an advantage to our long-term strategy for LEGO Education,” he says, noting that the central location in the Back Bay will also be accessible to its diverse workforce. He notes that among the guests at the ribbon cutting were officials with Pearson Education , which leases space at 501 Boylston in Copley Square. Students of the Berklee College of Music performed at the ribbon cutting and students of   KIPP Academy Elementary were the first youngsters to use the new space to explore and play with LEGO Education sets. The space on the corner of the fourth floor of the Boylston St. building is open and collaborative and designed to resemble classrooms and a schoolyard. The office design is inspired from how the first public school built in the United States on School Street in Boston in 1635. The more than 35-year-old company provides solutions and resources that are used in the classroom. Its portfolio involves science, technology, engineering, computer science, math and the humanities disciplines. LEGO Education offers educational sets, activity packs, teacher resources and programming tools to educators. “The space itself in a historical building can certainly be a challenge but we are finding it is a blessing,” Gillespie says. “So the heritage of 501 Boylston means not only that we have open and collaborative space, but it also has the inspiring architecture that makes people feel special to work here.” He says that the new office has given the company an unexpected, but welcome “sense of community.” When asked if General Electric’s decision to move from Fairfield, CT to Boston emblazoned his decision to relocate across the country to Boston, he responded, “I think anytime you see great companies come to the Boston area it is going to verify that we made a great choice for sure.”