COATESVILLE, PA-The West Chester-based Keystone Helicopter Corp. has broken ground for a 75,000-sf building to join its just-renovated 55,000-sf facility in the planned 173,000-sf, airport-based technical center here that will serve as its new headquarters. Long-range plans call for expansion to 315,000 sf.

Charlotte, NC-based Mallard Creek Investors acquired the 28-acre parcel from Aim Development Corp. in two phases and rents the land and the 55,000-sf existing building to Keystone for an undisclosed rental rate. It paid $2.5 million for the original 14.4 acres and structure and $1.1 million for the additional 13.4 acres.

The price of the second parcel included 26 equivalent dwelling units, EDUs, to cover Keystone's expanded use of the municipal sewer system. As a result, "the existing building was disconnected from an old septic tank and connected to the public sewer system last week," Leigh Matthews, business manager of helicopter services, tells GlobeSt.com.

Keystone invested $2 million to completely gut and renovate the existing building, according to Matthews, and some personnel are currently moving into that facility. Keystone is also footing the $7-million construction cost for the second building, which is expected to reach completion in spring 2006. "At that time all West Chester personnel will move to the new headquarters," she says. Plans and timeline for additional expansion are not final.

The state provided incentives of just over $1.3 million for the project. "We elected to cherry pick from the state money," Matthews says, "and selected a $500,000-opportunity grant, $600,000 in job-creation tax credits and $206,000 in grants for customized job training."

Keystone's parent company is Keystone Ranger Holdings. Three quarters of this subsidiary's revenue comes from repair, engineering and technical services to such helicopter makers as Bell Helicopter, Sikorsky Aircraft, Eurocopter, Honeywell and Rolls Royce engines. Its flight division has 150 pilots and mechanics. Annual sales have tripled in the past five years to $125 million, according to David Ford, president.