As rumors swirled about who was going to buy the 432-acre former StorageTek facility in Louisville, about a half-dozen people were quietly putting together the $58.5 million deal.
By Margaret Jackson
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 03/08/2008 06:55:50 PM MST
In the fall of 2006, ConocoPhillips chairman James Mulva and chief information officer Gene Batchelder realized the company was about to run out of space at its Houston headquarters and its research center in Bartlesville, Okla.
They hired Austin, Texas-based AngelouEconomics to help the company find a place to build new facilities. In keeping with the company's history, it narrowed the area to states in the nation's oil patch.
Last month, ConocoPhillips revealed plans to build a new technology center and corporate learning center on the 432-acre former StorageTek campus in Louisville it purchased from Sun Microsystems for $58.5 million. The announcement culminated a highly secretive process in which fewer than a half-dozen people knew the company's intentions.
"Colorado has been associated with oil, but is very pro new energy," said Mary Manning, general manager for global real estate and facilities service for ConocoPhillips. "We want to be a leader in that area. It was a great fit."
Many have said attracting ConocoPhillips is a coup for Gov. Bill Ritter, whose agenda includes promoting renewable energy. Ritter has pushed the legislature to pass a package of bills jump-starting what he calls the new energy economy.
About 18 months ago, Daniel Kah, Angelou's vice president of site selection, called the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. to inquire about available locations.
"We submitted 39 sites to the consultant, one of which was the Sun facility," said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the corporation. "Then it went dormant for a while." More here.
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