Space comms company offered nearly $5M in incentives to bring 451 jobs Boulder County

DENVER — Colorado is offering an unnamed space communications company more than $4.9 million in tax incentives to expand its operations in the state with a new antenna factory in Boulder County that would create 451 new jobs.

The expansion, referred to in Colorado Economic Development Commission and Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade documents as Project Eye in the Sky, “will support advanced projects for national defense that will require (a) unique facility and infrastructure,” according to an OEDIT memo.

It is the commission’s practice not to identify companies OEDIT is recruiting until incentives are accepted.

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The mystery company was “born and raised here in Colorado,” said a Project Eye In The Sky representative who introduced himself to the EDC as Gregg, and now that there are opportunities to expand, “if we can, we’d like to stay home.”

OEDIT deputy director and director of global business development Michelle Hadwiger said that cost comparisons were made using Louisville figures, suggesting that within Boulder County, Project Eye In The Sky might be targeting Louisville for its new plant.

Evidence suggests that Project Eye In The Sky could be Tendeg LLC, a Louisville space antennas and deployables company co-founded by its CEO Gregg Freebury, who resembles the project representative named “Gregg” who was present on Zoom for Thursday’s EDC meeting.

Should Project Eye In The Sky accept the incentives — the company is also considering Florida and Texas for its antenna factory, with costs and access to talent as major factors in the decision — and expand its Colorado operations, the new Boulder County jobs would pay an average annual wage of $121,421.

“This project would support the state’s economic goals by high-wage net new jobs for a manufacturing facility that will support our concentration of satellite companies in Colorado,” an OEDIT memo said. 

The Boulder Valley, particularly along the U.S. Highway 36 corridor, is a well-established aerospace hub, home to the likes of Sierra Space Corp.; Maxar Technologies Inc. (NYSE: MAXR); Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp.; and relative newcomer Orbit Fab Inc., a Lafayette aerospace company developing technologies to refuel spacecraft in orbit that this week closed on a $28.5 million Series A fundraising round.