(Casper, Wyo.) – Surrounded by 600 feet of power lines, 400 feet of sewer lines, and 30 feet of water lines, the Casper Area Economic Development Alliance (CAEDA) Speculative Building opened its doors Wednesday. Located in Bar Nunn, Wyoming, the new structure offers 30,000 square feet and is expandable to 60,000 square feet.
The group of board members cut the ribbon to welcome the newest facility to the Natrona County community.
CAEDA reported that the Speculative Building is designed to provide CAEDA and other groups in Natrona County with an option for use in assisting companies which seek a large building.
Bill Edwards, President & CEO at CAEDA commented, “This building gives companies and businesses a place to land while they wait for another structure to be built.”
“This building provides a wide array of options for businesses. It is sort of a last option for them until a new building can be constructed. It not only opens up a place for businesses inside the building, but we installed power lines, water, sewage to make that available for future businesses in the area,” said Edwards.
CAEDA, the Economic Development Joint Powers Board, Granite Peak Development, the Town of Bar Nunn, and the Wyoming Business Council formed the partnership in order to acquire the five acres of land for the project, construct the building and install the infrastructures.
“It was Casper Building Systems that actually built the building, and we want to thank them for all of their hard work, ” said Edwards.
Casper Mayor Charlie Powell attended the ribbon cutting and commented, “Hopefully this building will help to put us in a position to bring more companies and businesses to Casper.”
The project had been discussed by CAEDA and other groups for the past twenty years, according to CAEDA Chairman Chris Lorenzen.
Lorenzen continued to report that they have worked to meet the demands of businesses wanting to come to Casper, but the biggest hangup was the building space available to them.
“We had to deny forty-five requests due to the fact that we did not have a big enough building for them, and now we do. This is a building of last resort, if we risk losing a client, we can offer this building for their use as a temporary fix. I am excited for it.”
As board members stood in the wide open building, Bill Edwards commented, “This is going to be a great asset to our community.”
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