County Loses Bid to Become the Site of Computer Center
San Diego County on Monday lost a tight race to become the home of a computer-software center that will pool the resources of 13 top defense contractors and is expected to become a national leader in research for military systems, officials involved with the project announced.
A spokeswoman for the Software Productivity Consortium--an alliance of U.S. companies that includes Boeing Co., General Dynamics Corp. and Lockheed Missiles and Space Co.--said the center will be based just outside Washington, in Fairfax County, Va. She would not comment on why the East Coast site was chosen over the Carlsbad Research Center.
“Obviously, it’s very disappointing to spend a year negotiating with these folks and then see things turn out this way,” said Dan Pegg, president of the San Diego Economic Development Corp., which coordinated the county’s bid for the center. “We knew it was close, but we really thought our offer was better, what with the academic resources and quality of life San Diego has to offer. So, frankly, I’m a little surprised.”
Pegg speculated that the Virginia site’s proximity to the national capital and the Pentagon may have influenced the decision, because the center’s efforts will focus on problems with the engineering and production of software for defense systems.
The consortium’s long-awaited decision was the second such disappointment for San Diego in three years.
In 1983, a similar group--Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp.--placed an annual research budget of $100 million and a staff of more than 400 scientists and engineers in Austin, Tex., rather than in San Diego. That verdict was considered a blow to the county’s continuing efforts to become recognized as a base for high-tech firms.
Despite the rejections, Pegg and other local officials said they do not believe the decisions represent setbacks for the city or are indications that San Diego is a loser.
“In both cases, we were No. 2, and I think that’s a tribute to the community and the attributes we have to offer,” said Max Schetter, senior vice president of the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce. “These projects will continue coming down the line, and we’re sure to get our share. The question is when.”
Pegg noted that “consortiums make decisions for different reasons, and in this case, there might have been 13 different reasons, because there are 13 different companies. I don’t think it says anything negative about San Diego at all.”
“I think the fact that we were among the finalists says a lot about our academic capabilities, the quality of life and our area’s ability to attract the kind of scientists and engineers involved in projects like this,” Pegg said.
San Diego leaders also noted that the county already hosts an impressive array of high-tech companies and was honored in February when UC San Diego was chosen as one of four sites of a federally funded supercomputer center. The center, which will be managed by La Jolla-based GA Technologies at an estimated cost of $100 million over five years, is designed to help the United States maintain its lead in scientific research.
The Carlsbad Research Center, a 560-acre business park east of Interstate 5 and north of Palomar Airport, was among the five final sites considered by the consortium. Other areas in the running were Pittsburgh, Seattle and Dayton, Ohio.
Pegg said the Carlsbad site was considered a top contender because of a “very aggressive financial package” offered by its developer, San Diego-based Koll Co. Mike Dunigan, Koll vice president, said the company’s proposal included an offer to build the consortium a 50,000 square-foot building in the research park and provide free rent for an undisclosed portion of a five-year lease.
“Their offer was not one made with business logic in mind but rather represented a gesture for the good of the community,” Pegg said.
Among those who had lobbied for the San Diego County site were Gov. George Deukmejian, U.S. Sens. Pete Wilson and Alan Cranston, Congressmen Duncan Hunter and Ron Packard, and numerous local business leaders, Pegg said.
In addition to Boeing, General Dynamics and Lockheed, the companies participating in the consortium are E-Systems Inc., Ford Aerospace and Communications Corp., GTE Government Systems Corp., McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co., Northrup Corp. and Rockwell International.
Other member companies are La Jolla-based Science Applications International Corp., TRW Inc., United Technologies Corp. and Vitro Corp.
Eleven of the 13 firms are on the Fortune 500 list.
