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After an initial pause in 2024 of its $5-billion manufacturing campus in Social Circle, Ga., at the start of construction, automaker Rivian is now progressing work on the electric vehicle plant, with plans to begin production in late 2028.
CJ Adventures, a joint venture of Chicago-based Clayco and JE Dunn Construction Co., Kansas City, Mo. is the contractor leading the project with Madison, Wis.-based Affiliated Engineers Inc. and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill as design architect.
CJ Adventures and Lamar Johnson Collaborative, a Clayco unit, are also delivering the 1,800-acre site’s civil scopes, along with a paint shop, through a design-build approach.
Following a ceremonial groundbreaking last September, vertical construction began in May—the largest nonresidential project to break ground nationally that month, according to Dodge Construction Network.
As of August, work was underway on the foundations for two stamping presses within one of the buildings, according to Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. This is “one of the most capital-intensive and technically demanding projects within the plant from a construction perspective,” Rivian said in a statement.
The project includes the 16-million-sq-ft manufacturing facility, along with public-facing facilities such as a service, delivery and charging center. The project team expects the primary factory buildings to be enclosed in 2027.
Rivian plans to preserve a portion of the site as woodland and for recreation, and later phases would add a driving track with spectator seating, restaurant and other visitor amenities.
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-1.5
Percent of change in manufacturing starts—from July 2025 to July 2026
Source: Dodge Construction Network
With room for manufacturing expansion, Rivian has adjusted the plant’s planned capacity several times. Since resuming the project, the company has increased the plant’s annual capacity from 200,000 vehicles to 300,000, saying it would improve cost efficiency while still providing room for possible future capacity expansion, although the number is still down from its one-time estimate of 400,000 vehicles.
Rivian’s site is one of several plant projects in the region, including the $7.6-billion Hyundai Metaplant outside Savannah, as Georgia has moved to welcome EV and battery manufacturers as a key part of its future economic growth.
While federal support for EVs has not held steady from the Biden administration to the second Trump administration, Rivian and the U.S. Dept. of Energy renegotiated an incentive package this year, with a total loan value of about $4.5 billion, in line with the updated design and project schedule.
Rivian said it plans to produce electric SUVs and robotaxis for Uber at the plant.