Lockheed Martin Space Systems will get a property-tax rebate from Jefferson County worth about $1.5 million over 10 years for the facility it will devote to the Orion crew exploration vehicle, the successor to the space shuttle.
Lockheed plans to expand its Waterton campus in southern Jefferson County with a lab that will simulate Orion’s connection with the international space station and lunar modules, the county said. Lockheed, already a major employer in the county, also hopes to lease about 140,000 square feet of office space in the county for the project.
The incentive amounts to a 50 percent rebate of the corporate personal property tax.
In a written statement, County Commissioner Jim Congrove said the incentive is “in line with our pledge to do all we can to attract business and industry to our county and to help our existing businesses and industries thrive.”
The county also announced that Lockheed has committed to the creation of about 300 jobs over the next five years with an average salary of $70,000 and to invest about $55 million in property.
Earlier this year, Colorado offered Lockheed up to $1.14 million in incentives for 300 new jobs if the company won the Orion contract.
