NASA tech park would fit right in if it comes to pass

NASA’s plans for a research park between Boulder and Loveland should provide a significant boost to efforts to solidify the northern Front Range as a center for aerospace and clean-energy technology, if it comes to pass.

The plans were unveiled Dec. 13 by NASA, the Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology, and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Plans call for a manufacturing innovation park for 70 to 100 companies. The park would include about 1 million square feet of space and could create 10,000 jobs.

While the number of jobs seems unrealistically high, and financing is still hard to come by, it’s a bold and beautiful idea.

Central to the park’s mission would be to create a hub for promotion of the aerospace and clean-tech sectors, including commercialization of NASA technology. That’s a great fit for the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado, feeding off the clean-tech strengths of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, the University of Colorado in Boulder and federal laboratories in both markets.

Both regions have developed expertise in clean energy, with major employers such as Vestas Wind Systems, Abound Solar and many others. Technology developed at NASA meshes well with those other strengths, and should foster continued growth of the aerospace and clean-tech sectors.

Area developers are eager to have land considered for the technology hub. We can think of a number of viable sites in both Boulder and Larimer counties (the areas targeted by NASA).

NASA’s goal is to commercialize technology in a faster, more-efficient manner, and to build a cluster of companies that will strengthen those industries regionally.

Other areas of the country are striving to become national centers of clean technologies, but few boast the wealth of resources prevalent in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado. NASA’s plan will further cement the region nationally and globally in clean tech.

The other targeted sector, aerospace, will build on an existing strength in the Boulder Valley, with the presence of Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder and DigitalGlobe Inc. in Longmont.

The success of the NASA plan will depend on whether a developer embraces the proposal and is willing to invest significant funds to realize its potential.

For our part, we would be pleased to add NASA to the other abbreviations that have made the region famous: NCAR, NREL, NIST, CU, CSU and many others.

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