Defense firms eye business park

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Apr 14, 2006 | by WAYNE HEILMAN THE GAZETTE

A California-based research organization for the Air Force is poised to become the first private tenant in the Colorado Springs Airport's new business park.

Aerospace Corp. has discussed plans to build a 73,000-square- foot building on a site of up to 40 acres in the park, said Mike Schultz of the city's Planning Department. The nonprofit aerospace company is expected to submit formal plans as soon as today.

Defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp. also has talked to the Planning Department about a building it plans in the park, Schultz said. Company officials have told Schultz that the size of the building and other details have yet to be determined.

The city's Rapid Response Team is shepherding both the Aerospace and Northrop projects through planning and permit approvals needed before construction can begin, Schultz said. The team helps speed the approvals to avoid or reduce any delays before construction can begin.

Mark Earle, the city's aviation director; Linda Rohlinger, an Aerospace Corp. spokeswoman; and Jay McCaffrey, a Northrop Grumman spokesman, all declined to comment on the projects, though McCaffrey said Northrop was considering "options" for its Springs work force.

Aerospace Corp. employs about 100 at offices at 1150 Academy Park Loop, northwest of Academy and Fountain boulevards. The company's engineers provide technical analysis and assessments for Air Force Space Command and several other Air Force organizations.

Northrop employs 1,200 at six locations spread around the Springs, and officials said last year the company could hire 200 to 400 more during the next two years to help complete a Missile Defense Agency contract awarded in September that is valued at up to $2.5 billion.

The contract calls for Northrop to draft threat scenarios and find solutions through simulations and wargaming at the Joint National Integration Center at Schriever Air Force Base, where the company has been working as lead contractor since 1995.

Construction has already begun in the 1,000-acre business park, which is south of the airport's passenger terminal, on an access road for a soon-to-be-started transfer station that will be used to load and unload aircraft for Fort Carson and Peterson Air Force Base.

The business park eventually is expected to bring up to 5,000 new jobs to the area when it is completed in 10 years. The park also is expected to include 18 sites for office buildings or industrial plants, two sites for shopping centers, two hotel sites and an 18- hole golf course.

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