Raven Defense Corp., a homegrown company, has signed a 10-year lease and has plans for a new 25,000-square-foot office off Interstate 25 at 4411 The 25 Way NE.
Launched in 2018 by four employees who worked for Raytheon, today, Raven Defense has 17 employees and plans to add more soon.
President and CEO Chris Patscheck said he needs to more than double his team in the next several months. The firm had been awarded several contracts and in negotiation for several more, thus the need for more employees. Some of Raven Defense's work is hypersonic testing and development for the Department of Defense, Patscheck said.
Its first day in the office was Nov. 1.
"It's going to be research development and manufacturing and it'll just enable us to meet our contractual obligations," Patscheck said. "We've been at this months looking for a facility and commercial real estate market for mixed-industrial has just been absolutely challenging and terrible. ... It took a lot of time and effort but we finally got it across the goal line."
The landlord for the space at 4411 The 25 Way NE was represented by Colliers International's Shona Martinez and Scott Whitefield.
Patscheck and Raven Defense were represented by Albuquerque broker Gannon Coffman in the deal. Coffman said over his time representing Raven Defense, there were two occasions where it finished as the "bridesmaid — not the bride" for a space.
Coffman said his relationship with Raven Defense CTO and co-director Michael Robson goes back to their high school days when both played for La Cueva High School's football team. Coffman said Robson approached him looking for a new space and began the process.
Patscheck added that it will keep its first office at 4239 Balloon Fiesta Road NE. It also has a 4-acre test site across the street from its new facility. In the long-term, Patscheck said the company will look to consolidate more into 4411 The 25 Way NE.
Its current total footprint encompasses about 36,000 square feet.
Colliers International ranked No. 2 on Business First's List of New Mexico Commercial Real Estate Firms after reporting $261.99 million in commercial transaction volume in 2020.
