Departing Aerospace Company Gives Calabasas Library $100,000

Lockheed Martin Corp., which is in the process of moving its corporate headquarters from Calabasas to Maryland, has presented the city with a $100,000 going-away present to upgrade the city’s library.

“We are very proud of our years as a corporate citizen in Calabasas,” said Barbara Reinike, a Lockheed Martin spokeswoman. “Our management and employees will always remember the time we spent here.”

Lockheed moved to Calabasas from Burbank in 1986. The company--then known as Lockheed Corp.--built a facility on 40 acres on Park Granada. The company, which later merged with Martin Marietta Corp., announced last year it was moving its corporate headquarters to Bethesda, Md., as part of a restructuring plan.

Calabasas officials estimate the city will lose about $50,000 annually in utility and hotel bed taxes with the firm’s departure.

“I appreciate their generosity,” City Councilwoman Karyn Foley said. “I’m grateful that they recognize how much a library services center means to the city of Calabasas.”

Foley, who has been active in an effort to upgrade the library, said the money will be used to pay rent and buy furniture and supplies.

Calabasas, which currently uses a small room in City Hall for its library, must move because City Hall needs the space. The library plans to move into a larger space near Ralphs supermarket on Calabasas Road. City officials say the new library will open by Dec. 1.