A rendering of the 2 million-square-foot Lego distribution center and warehouse planned to open in 2027 in Prince George County. (Courtesy Lego)

Lego continues to build its regional presence, marking an early milestone in the construction of a massive warehouse while opening a retail location on opposite ends of the metro area.

The Danish toymaker held a groundbreaking ceremony this week for an upcoming $366 million warehouse and distribution facility planned in the Crosspointe Logistics Center in Prince George County.

The event Thursday came just days after a Lego store opened at Short Pump Town Center in Henrico County.

The 2 million-square-foot distribution center in Prince George is being financed and built in a joint venture between New Jersey-based The Silverman Group and Texas-based Hillwood Investment Properties, which co-own Crosspointe.

Lego will be the sole tenant in the future building and has signed a 20-year, build-to-suit lease on the property, according to a company spokeswoman. The building is being constructed on a 200-plus-acre property, where site work was already underway this week.

The project’s general contractor is Hillwood Construction Services. Timmons Group was selected to handle civil engineering. Ohio-based Red Architecture was tapped to design the project.

The warehouse is projected to cost $275 million to construct, and its fixtures, furniture and business personal property are expected to cost $91 million, according to county documents. Lego plans to make investments in the facility “focused on automation equipment and other aspects of the interior,” the spokeswoman said.

The warehouse would be staffed by at least 305 full-time employees with an average annual wage of at least $55,952, according to county documents. Lego has hired a third-party logistics contractor to operate the facility, but declined to identify the firm.

The Prince George warehouse, which is known as a Regional Distribution Center or RDC, is intended to support Lego’s upcoming 1.7 million-square-foot manufacturing center under construction in Chesterfield County. Lego also operates a temporary packaging facility in Chesterfield.