MSU board votes on Brewer's JVIC lease

The Missouri State University Board of Governors voted unanimously yesterday to amend Rolla-based Brewer Science Inc.'s lease at the Jordan Valley Innovation Center to include space vacated by Lockheed Martin Corp.

Effective Feb. 1, Brewer would lease an additional 4,624 square feet at a rate of $13.50 per square foot annually until Jan. 31, 2015. The company has the option to extend the lease for $16 per square foot annually through April 30, 2017, according to an MSU board agenda document. Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin occupied 7,600 square feet at JVIC before terminating its contract and vacating in the fall.

"We have great confidence in JVIC. The fact that we could fill the space so quickly I think confirms that," MSU President Clif Smart said this morning. "It's a good operation, and it's good for our economy."

Brewer already leases 4,624 square feet on the fifth floor of two buildings for $13.50 per square foot annually and about 3,200 square feet on the second floor of another building at a rate of $16 per square foot a year.

With the lease of additional space starting Feb. 1, Brewer would be paying MSU approximately $180,000 a year for nearly 12,500 square feet at JVIC.

The lease amendment approved yesterday also gives Brewer the right to extend its lease through April 30, 2027, at a price not to exceed $18 per square foot per year, and gives the firm first right of refusal on three additional JVIC parcels.

Brewer has leased space at JVIC since the facility opened in 2007. The Rolla-based company signed on for space before JVIC's groundbreaking, according to Springfield Business Journal archives. Brewer specializes in semiconductor and microelectronics equipment and the chemicals marketplace, according to JVIC.MissouriState.edu.