The city of Loveland expects within several days to have a contract to buy the 300-acre former Agilent Technologies campus — a potential site for the Aerospace and Clean Energy research and manufacturing park.
William Cahill, Loveland’s city manager, said Wednesday that the city and Agilent have been in negotiations since January. Once a contract is signed, the city will have until the end of June to close.
On Tuesday, the Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology said it is focused on the former Agilent campus as the site for the ACE park and will begin discussions with Loveland.
The association said that although it has narrowed its focus to the Loveland site, “this does not mean that the former Agilent campus will ultimately be selected. Another greenfield property could be selected instead of, or in addition to, the former Agilent campus.”
The group has received more than 40 proposals, which have been reviewed by a team of experts in engineering, construction, development and design.
Cahill said the city does not expect to be the long-term owner of the Agilent property. He believes the association and a private developer will be.
The campus, which contains 800,000 square feet of vacant building space, could employ anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 workers, he said.
The Aerospace and Clean Energy Manufacturing and Innovation Park will eventually house up to 100 businesses interested in sharing services, equipment and access to NASA, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and other partner organizations.
The search for a park began after NASA and Colorado officials announced a partnership in December aimed at accelerating the commercial rollout of aerospace and energy technologies.
The so-called Space Act agreement between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the manufacturing association included the private development of the park.
NASA will identify technologies ready for commercialization — whether developed by the space agency or its partners — and pair them with Colorado businesses for production and market rollout.
The first phase will feature 50,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space.
