Posted by Heidi Schwartz
Woodward, Inc. has announced that it intends to acquire a corporate campus site for its global headquarters and selected business group operations in Fort Collins, CO. The acquisition decision was made after extensive work with the City of Fort Collins to plan the site and to obtain necessary approvals for its intended use.
The Colorado Office of Economic Development and Colorado Economic Development Commission arranged important business assistance associated with planned new jobs and investment and the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation provided valuable site selection assistance.
The downtown Fort Collins site, adjacent to the Poudre River and its 21-mile recreational trail, is within walking distance of the community’s dynamic “Old Town” historic area—a popular Northern Colorado destination for shopping and entertainment. Colorado State University, a longtime Woodward partner in energy technology development, is a short drive away. A key consideration in the selection of the site was the ability to leverage Woodward’s investment and employment on the new campus to help achieve long term planning goals of the Fort Collins community, particularly for the Old Town area.
Woodward anticipates that the attributes of the site, the community, and the new campus will represent compelling, competitive differentiators for long-term retention and attraction of talented members. Of the 101-acre parcel to be acquired, Woodward is planning to donate to the City of Fort Collins approximately 30 acres, which is adjacent to the river, for restoration by the city as a natural area and for improvements to the city’s extensive trail system.
Through competitive processes, Woodward selected Ghafari Associates of Dearborn, Michigan to provide architectural and engineering services and M. A. Mortensen Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota as the construction manager/general contractor for the Colorado project.
