Intel nearly ready to move to new building

FORT COLLINS – When Intel announced it would be investing in Fort Collins by setting up its Itanium design team in the former Celestica building on Harmony Road, cheers went up in the business community.

Now, a year and a half later and more than $37 million in upgrades and improvements, the company is closing in on actually moving its employees into a newly redesigned facility.

“We’re still finishing up the building,´ said Intel spokeswoman Judy Cara.

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Intel entered the region when it acquired about 250 employees on the Hewlett-Packard Co. Itanium design team in December 2004. The companies had been working to co-develop the chip for many years.

Specific plans for the site or a timeline for relocating Intel’s more than 300 employees from their offices at the Fort Collins HP site was never made public. In a January 2006 interview with the Business Report, Cara estimated that the move would occur in the forth quarter of 2006. Cara now says the company would likely hold a grand opening in the next couple of months.

The latest building permit for Intel’s improvements, with a valuation of $33.5 million, was filed with the city of Fort Collins on Nov. 15. The permit describes the work as the “second phase of remodel for Intel Corp.” It covers the tenant finish including major electrical and mechanical work, exterior concrete work and equipment pads.

A September building permit, with a value of $2.1 million, listed work such as floor drains, removal of building siding, addition of concrete pillars, etc.

The building upgrades aren’t all concrete and wiring, though. Cara said that the company outfitted the building with a fitness center equipped with showers; a mother’s room, for use by nursing mothers; and a multicultural room for people who might need a quiet area to pray or meditate during working hours. Additionally, the company installed high-tech video conferencing equipment and InFocus projectors in the conference rooms.

Parts of the facility also had to undergo a decontamination process. Celestica, the original tenant, used a large part of the building for manufacturing components usesd in the semiconductor industry. In order to use the space for offices, Intel had to lower lead levels to meet environmental safety standards. Cara said that the lead levels in the building are now lower than industry standards for office areas.

Other upgrades

Intel is only one of a number of tech companies that have spent time and money to upgrade their facilities. LSI Logic Inc. consolidated its staff into one building last year. The company decided in early 2005 to vacate its newer facility on the corner of Harmony and Ziegler roads in Fort Collins.

LSI began extensive work on upgrading its Danfield Court facility, which was built in 1979 with an upgrade in 1994. In order to accommodate additional employees, the building underwent extensive changes.

“The entire second floor was renovated to add additional cube space, increase the number of conference rooms and modernize the space,” according to LSI spokeswoman Diane Miller.

She added that lab space was consolidated to make room for additional office space. In total, the site now houses almost 270.

The changes were not all about space, however. The company added windows to the first and second floor office areas to enhance natural light. A new data center and new main lobby were also added.

Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. beat its competition to the punch as far as readying its Fort Collins facility. AMD is leasing a portion of the Harmony Corporate Center – the building that formerly housed part of LSI’s Fort Collins staff.

The building was purchased in May by Colorado Springs-based Arizona Land Co. LLC for $12.6 million. AMD held  an open house in December to introduce its new digs, dubbed the Mile High Design Center.

Intel was said to have originally eyed the former LSI facility before settling on the vacated Celestica plant.