The massive 70-acre Agilent Technologies complex on Molter Road will become a technology and office park with the potential to create thousands of jobs in Liberty Lake, Greenstone Corp. announced this week.

An investment entity controlled by Liberty Lake-based Greenstone is acquiring the former Agilent building and surrounding property for an undisclosed amount, Greenstone founder and president Jim Frank said. The purchase is expected to close June 14.

The move "really helps position Liberty Lake as a very strong, technology cluster here," Frank said Monday. "We've been that to some degree, but this really allows us to expand the role Liberty Lake plays in the job picture in Spokane."

The news comes on the heels of Agilent's announcement last week that it will close its Liberty Lake operations by this fall, affecting about 100 employees. The company, which has been in the community for nearly three decades, has undergone waves of layoffs in recent years. Last year, Agilent moved to a leased building on Knox Avenue and put the Molter Road complex on the market.

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"It's been very difficult to hear the news about Agilent. This couldn't come at a better time," Liberty Lake Mayor Wendy Van Orman said this week. "Hopefully, we can keep these very well-educated, very valuable residents working within their own community."

The Agilent Technologies complex, located at Mission Avenue and Molter, includes 70 acres of property with a roughly 250,000-square-foot office building, a 20,000-square-foot annex with a cafeteria and conference center, about 1,000 parking spaces and extensive walking trails, tennis and basketball courts, a fitness center, picnic areas and an outdoor amphitheater.

Greenstone plans to develop the complex into a multi-building office complex, to be called MeadowWood Technology Office Park, Frank said. That was the original vision of Hewlett Packard, the tech company that first constructed the Liberty Lake plant in 1979. It became part of Agilent Technologies in 1999.

At full build out, the MeadowWood campus could accommodate about 700,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space, creating between 2,000 and 5,000 jobs, Frank said.

Splash file photo courtesy of the Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District The Splash unearthed the circa-1981 aerial photo of Hewlett Packard (and later, Agilent Technologies) when it was surrounded by undeveloped fields. Greenstone announced this week it will purchase the complex for an office park.

"It's very significant for the city of Liberty Lake," he said. "While none of us wanted Agilent to leave, the opportunity to open this building up will, in the long run, more than replace the jobs lost by Agilent over the years."

In its heyday, the Liberty Lake Agilent site employed up to 1,800, including temporary and full-time employees.

Frank said the main office building, which will be available for lease, has high-quality construction with versatile space and the utility capacity to accommodate large-scale manufacturing and technology tenants.

The space is unusual for the Spokane area, with the configuration allowing up to 100,000 square feet for one tenant on the main floor and up to 80,000 square feet for a single tenant on the second floor, Frank said.

Greenstone is in discussion with several potential tenants, who could move in by the end of the year, he said. With the lead time needed to draw significant tenants, the real impact of the purchase on the community won't be felt until 2011 or 2012, Frank said.

The complex allows for about 40 acres of property to be developed, and Greenstone will look at building to lease or allowing companies to purchase and develop their own facilities, Frank said.

The 20,000-square-foot annex, which houses 10,000 square feet of conference space and a cafeteria and commercial kitchen, could be developed into a conference or convention center, Frank said.

The recreational amenities on site also will be a draw for potential businesses, Frank said. Greenstone also hopes the grounds will benefit the community. For example, the Liberty Lake Community Tennis Association could play on the tennis courts, and the public may be able to enjoy the picnic areas and amphitheater, Frank said.

"We would really like to see this be a facility that can benefit the community, not only in the sense that it provides jobs for the community," he said, "but there are amenities here that the community may be able to take advantage of."

By the Numbers

70 - Acres included in the Agilent complex

250,000 - Approximate square footage of main office building

2,000 - Minimum jobs Greenstone expects with build out of park

1979 - Year that Hewlett Packard opened the Liberty Lake plant

2010 - Year that Agilent Technologies will leave the community