The University of Arizona Tech Park is home to the university’s science and tech based startups. But, there is a new addition coming to The Refinery building that is set to impact generations to come.
Raytheon Missiles & Defense, is the first corporate tenant at The Refinery, leasing approximately 14,000 square feet of office space just minutes away from the University of Arizona campus.
This has been a work in progress since the idea first sparked nearly 7 years ago. The Refinery was built by The Boyer Company with four-stories and over 120,000 square feet of building space.
“We did a groundbreaking here in February of 2020 which was about a month before the world shut down with COVID... I think one of the things we are most appreciative of is President Robbins and the team at the university that still went forward and signed their leases," said Matt Jensen, The Boyer Company.
The Boyer Company is one of the largest real estate development firms and has development projects up near Phoenix– but creating space in a city like Tucson was no easy task.
“The Tucson market is interesting when it comes to office development. There really isn’t a speculative office market in Tucson and so to get a building built like this, you needed to have someone who was willing to take that risk," said Matt Jensen, The Boyer Company.
The opportunity for companies like Raytheon to work closely with the University of Arizona and potentially provide more jobs and services for students is the ultimate goal.
Raytheon is looking to move into Tech Park by the end of 2023.
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Brooke Chau is a reporter for KGUN 9. She was a part of Fresno State's newscast, Fresno State Focus and interned at KFSN-ABC30 in Fresno, CA before coming to KGUN 9. Share your story ideas and important issues with Brooke by emailing brooke.chau@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
