Broomfield courting public company VMware

BROOMFIELD – VMware Inc. (NYSE:VMW) is considering a new software development office in Broomfield, which eventually could employ 300 to 500 people here.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based computer virtualization firm is looking to lease 50,000 square feet at 380 Interlocken Crescent, according to Broomfield city documents.

VMware estimates it will employ 300 people in the office in 2009 and 500 people in 2011. It also plans to spend about $2 million to renovate the office space.

Broomfield city council gave preliminary approval to offer the company several economic incentives. A meeting to possibly finalize the deal is scheduled for March 11.

The incentives include a 50 percent rebate on city and county personal property taxes for 10 years and a 50 percent rebate on the 3.5 percent building use tax. VMware is projected to see a total rebate of $92,494 out of $197,987 of those taxes paid through 2019.

The company must maintain a local employee base of 300 people or more from 2010 to 2019 to receive the economic incentives.

VMware, a subsidiary of data-storage firm EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC), provides vitalization solutions for computers – from desktops to data centers. The company’s software creates a virtual server than can be transported to set up and access data at individual machines.

Founded in 1998, VMware went public on the New York Stock Exchange in August 2007.

It is headed up by co-founder, President and Chief Executive Diane Green. The company has more than 40 offices, 5,000 employees worldwide and 100,000 customers worldwide. It reported revenues of $1.33 billion last year.

The company already has a temporary local office at 10955 Westmoor Drive, Suite 400 in Broomfield, according to its Web site.

VMware officials declined to comment.

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