by Luci Scott - Oct. 7, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Space-technology company Orbital Sciences Corp. plans a big expansion across the street from its facility on Price Road in south Chandler, which is expected to bring hundreds more well-paying jobs to the area.
The company will occupy the first office building to be built in a new 74-acre mixed-use project, the Waters at Ocotillo.
Orbital has 1,000 employees in its Price Road building near Dobson Road south of Queen Creek Road and 300 workers in leased space. It also has 150 on-site contractors. The new building will house 330 workers, some moved from current sites.
The first office building will have 82,000 square feet. Ultimately, the expansion will comprise up to 232,000 square feet in three new buildings. The two campuses will cover 600,000 square feet with room for nearly 2,200 employees, nearly double the existing work- force.
"We're going to break ground probably late this month, with occupancy about a year later," Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski said.
"Our current thinking is that in a few years' time . . . we will need these facilities to support our business," he said.
The first new building will house mechanical, electrical, software and system engineers as well as program managers.
The salaries generally run more than $70,000, said Chris Mackay, Chandler's acting director of economic development.
The company also is signing an 11-year lease in its current building and is planning a 13,000-square-foot expansion and facility upgrades at that site.
Orbital develops and manufactures small- and medium-class rockets and space systems for commercial, military and civil government customers. Its primary products are satellites and launch vehicles.
Orbital's expansion is being fueled by the continued strong demand for the company's launch-vehicle products. They are used primarily by the U.S. government to deploy and test missile defense systems and to launch scientific and national-security satellites.
Orbital is also developing a new rocket, Taurus II, which will be capable of carrying cargo to the International Space Station and boosting commercial satellites into orbit.
Mackay said, "The exciting thing . . . is that we have an office building coming out of the ground 100 percent occupied in this market where office vacancy rates are getting a little higher."
The office vacancy rate in metro Phoenix is over 18 percent, and in Chandler, 12 percent.
Orbital is headquartered in Dulles, Va., where the company is also expanding.
It first established a presence in Chandler 20 years ago when the company acquired a small company, Space Data.
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