LOVELAND and WINDSOR — Aerospace manufacturer Woodward Inc. (Nasdaq: WWD) has swapped its Loveland complex in a real estate deal that will expand its research facility in Windsor as it plans to move almost 300 employees to nearby cities.

Commercial real estate brokerage CBRE, in a statement Friday afternoon, said the Woodward facility at 3800 Wilson Ave. in Loveland was sold, while Woodward acquired the former Iron Mountain Truck & Auto Inc. building, just east of its current facility at 871 Champion Drive in Windsor along U.S. Highway 34.

In its own statement, the Fort Collins-based Woodward said it is moving its Air Valves Engineering and Testing operations that are currently in the Loveland complex to be relocated to the existing Windsor operation.

“Selling the Loveland Campus allows us to optimize our Colorado footprint,” Woodward’s director of corporate real estate Steve Steismeyer said.

Larimer County property records show that Woodward sold the Loveland complex to Southgate One LLC, registered to prominent developer Martin Lind, for $4.22 million in a deal that closed Friday. Property records in Weld County still show the former Iron Mountain building as being owned by that company.

Lind said discussions to move the Loveland operation began two years ago, when he said the company was looking for consolidation options.“The entire project was about creating energy and synergy where they needed it, and the WIndsor campus had this opportunity that worked better for them,” he said.

Woodward plans to move its 293 staffers based in Loveland to its other campuses in Windsor and Fort Collins over the next two years. Lind said he has leased the property back to the company, but has yet to sign a future tenant.

The loss of nearly 300 jobs will likely have knock-on effects for the local Loveland economy, due to less economic activity driven by the staffers being in the city.

“We have been grateful to Woodward  for being a steady corporate partner to Loveland over these past 30 years, ” said Kelly Jones, economic-development director for the city. “We’ve known about this departure for some time and wish them great success in our sister city.”

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include a comment from the city of Loveland.