The centroid of the Texas Space Program has just moved west.
It would seem that the vastness of west Texas desert and old hangers is preferable to the harsh business hatred of Californians.
......”XCOR was in serious discussions with one other city and was in the process of widening its considerations when a consulting firm that provides leads to the MDC brought up the company to Pam Welch, MDC executive director.
XCOR and the MDC had an initial call in the early months of 2012, and the relationship quickly grew from there, Welch and Nelson said.
“Midland was doing its job by calling companies and saying, ‘Hey, are you interested in coming to Midland?’” Nelson said.
Laughing a bit as he recalled the first interaction, Nelson said he replied, “Yeah, you’d be surprised at how interested we are.”
After discussions began, leaders of the company traveled to Midland, and Nelson said they agreed the combination of the desert, the well-run airport and Texas’ business climate made the Permian Basin a perfect fit.
“Once you get those basic things that you have to have, then you start looking at things like tax rates, liability, all of the other factors that come into play,” he said. “Midland and Texas were on that list as a business-friendly community. Obviously, the business climate in California is not nearly as friendly.”........
......If the MDC incentive is approved, XCOR will create a corporate headquarters and research and development operation in Midland at the already-established AMI Hangar.
The hangar is vacant and was improved in recent years at a cost of about $300,000. Of that amount, the MDC paid $117,000, Welch said.
Updates included asbestos abatement and other basic renovations that were meant to create a shell that a company could move in to and build to its specifications, she said.
If the deal is approved Monday, XCOR will spend the first months improving the hangar and moving some of its staff to Midland.
The airport at that time will be in the process of applying with the FAA for a spaceport designation. Rendall said it’s anticipated that will take about 18 months.
If that designation is received, which Rendall and Nelson said they fully expect, XCOR then will bring its full research and development operations to Midland. The company will maintain an operational base in California and plans to seek a location for an operational base on the East Coast. Eventually, XCOR could have operational bases in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world, Nelson said.
“The heart and soul of the company is the R&D unit,” he said. “All of our senior people — they’re going to be working and living there.”............