A desire for flexibility — and room to breathe — are what finally drew Aerospace Corp. south to become the first tenant at the Colorado Springs Airport Business Park.

When the land lease clears the City Attorney’s Office early next month, the El Segundo, Calif., research company will have 30 acres to develop, with an option for 50 more just to the south.

The initial design, filed with the city Wednesday, calls for a 78,000-square-foot building on 13.9 acres.

“We’re not building out those 16 remaining acres for now,” said Jerry M. Drennan, Aerospace Corp.’s vice president for space operations, requirements and technology. “It’s more of a wait-andsee proposition. We’re well-positioned for whatever may happen down the road.”

Groundbreaking is projected for July, with construction completed in the late summer of 2007. The company is tentatively scheduled to move into the building in September 2007.

Until then, Aerospace will continue to make do with its 30,000 square feet at 1150 Academy Park Loop, just north of Fountain Boulevard, where it employs about 100. An additional 20 or so Aerospace employees work at Peterson Air Force Base and at Schriever Air Force Base. The company’s engineers provide technical analysis and assessments for the Air Force Space Command and several other Air Force organizations.

“We’re not really anticipating a lot of (employee) growth, at least not in the short term,” Drennan said. “We’ve been very cramped in our current location. It’s really not sufficient for our use. This will give us a chance to make sure all of our employees have the room they need. It should make us more efficient.”

Defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp. also has a land lease pending with the city attorney’s office for a 30-acre parcel that will make it the business park’s second tenant. City aviation director Mark Earle said he has had conversations with other interested parties.

“We are very excited about Aerospace’s plan,” Earle said. “It is a great start for us. . . . We worked with them to make sure they had the flexibility they wanted.”

Earle said the next stage will be to find a master developer to work with airport officials on the 1,000-acre business park project, just south of the airport. Over the next 10 years, the area is projected to include office buildings, manufacturing plants, hotels, a golf course and open space, Earle said.

Airport and Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp. officials estimate that the business park may ultimately generate as many as 5,000 new jobs and as much as $10 million in annual revenue for the airport.

Aerospace Corp. is the first to move in, but a developer is being sought for the rest of the park, and its second tenant plans to move in in January. Photo by (TODD SPOTH, THE GAZETTE)