BAE Systems plans to develop a $139M classified facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and create 650 jobs in the city, The Gazette reported Friday.
Construction work on the proposed 200K-square-foot defense aerospace facility is expected to kick off by October and conclude by September 2022. Ryan Companies US will serve as the project’s developer.
The Cedar Rapids City Council is scheduled Tuesday to vote on incentives for the proposed BAE project, including infrastructure improvements and a 75 percent exemption from property tax for two decades. The Iowa Economic Development Authority will meet July 17, Friday, to consider the property tax exemption.
BAE agreed to buy the military GPS business of Collins Aerospace, now a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTN), in January for $1.925B in cash. The Department of Justice directed United Technologies Corp., then Collins Aerospace’s parent company, to divest the business in order to advance its merger with Raytheon.
The report said Collins Aerospace has approximately 10K employees in Iowa and about 675 of those are working as part of its military GPS business.
“The COVID pandemic has dealt the regional economy a gut punch, and economic development wins like this start to change the story,” Doug Neumann, executive director of the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, told the publication. “Bringing a global company like BAE Systems to town and retaining talented former Collins Aerospace employees is welcome and celebrated news."
