The city of Loveland expects to have a contract to buy the 300-acre Agilent campus in Loveland within several days – the potential site for the much heralded Aerospace and Clean Energy research and manufacturing park, William D. Cahill, Loveland’s city manager said today.
Cahill said the city and Agilent have been in negotiations since January and that with the expected signing, the city will have a contract to buy the property. The city will have until the end of June to close, said Cahill.
The Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology announced late Tuesday that it has focused on the former Agilent campus.
It said that that after issuing a request for proposals in January to identify a park site, it received more than 40 proposals which were reviewed by a team of experts in engineering, construction, development and design.
As a result of that review, CAMT said it focused on a “single existing building complex, the former Agilent campus in Loveland.”
CAMT said it will now begin discussions with the city of Loveland, which is in the process of purchasing the complex.
Cahill said that the city of Loveland does not expect to be the longer-term owner of the property. Rather, he said he believes that CAMT and a private developer will be the long-term owners.
As far as CAMT’s decision, Cahill said Loveland community leaders are ecstatic.
“We are very pleased. It’s exciting,” said the city manager. “It is potentially transformational for Loveland and the area.”
He said that the campus could employ as few as 2,000 to 3,000 people while higher estimates range from 7,000 to 10,000. The campus contains 800,000 square feet of buildings.
Cahill said having the park in Loveland will put northern Colorado on the cutting edge of technological research and advancement in the United States.
CAMT said that although it has narrowed its focus to the Loveland complex, “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,” said the group.
The complex – whose full name is 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 technologies.
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 NASA and CAMT included the private development of the Aerospace and Clean Energy 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, with an estimated cost of $5 million to $6 million.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
