by Alexa Jaworski

If it seems unusual to create a business park on an active military base, it is: Until recently none existed. But Missouri's Fort Leonard Wood happens to be where the business is these days.

The University of Missouri System and the State of Missouri, which is backing the project, have recently completed the first building of the University of Missouri Technology Park at Fort Leonard Wood. The partners plan a 17-building park on 62 acres inside Fort Wood.

The big plans have started small: Construction of the 18,000-square-foot building was in three phases, beginning with an 8,000-square-foot piece followed by two phases of 5,000 square feet each.Total cost: $2.5 million. To date, 10,500 square feet have been leased.

It may be a small start, but the state and the university feel they are on track to fill a big need: providing office space, where none was available before, for military contractors already doing business inside the fort or in the rural region beyond the gates. Previously, says park manager Rick Finholt, "companies would have to go into a retail space and convert it to office space." Some companies were even working out of hotel rooms, he adds. Tenants of the Fort Wood park include engineering and tech firms such as Battelle, Advancia, High Tech Crime Institute and Camber. In all, 17 companies currently rent space; the offices provide a small combination beachhead and bunker from which they can more effectively manage their on-base operations.

The state and university have committed $3.3 million to the park, for which they have a 33-year lease. But construction of the park's second building may depend on private funding. The university is ready to go out to bid on the building, but the state is withholding remaining funds because of a budget crunch, says Finholt, who declined to name the several developers that are in discussions with the park.

Demand for contractor-support space has grown as the Army and other branches of the U.S. military have turned increasingly to private contractors over the last decade. And Fort Wood has grown even as the Army has downsized and consolidated bases across the country.

"The more activity there is on post, the greater the need for our kind of office space," says Finholt.

Located in a rural section of Missouri halfway between Springfield and St. Louis, Fort Wood could almost be confused with a small city: It sits on 65,000 acres and is host to a daily average population of more than 30,000. It is also the Army's primary training facility for humanitarian demining, homeland security and counter-terrorism. Millions of dollars in federal contracts flow through the post each year.

The technology park project makes sense from many angles. Providing contractors with offices on post brings them physically closer to their clients, notes Finholt. The park, opened to tenants last September, is within a mile of everything on the base.

One benefit for tenants: less time at security checks at the gates that have become more rigorous due to the threat of terrorism. "Today, everyone must be cleared through military police security at the gate and show a reason for visiting," says Finholt. "Having an office on post makes it much more convenient."

In addition, tenants get military police protection as well as the best cyber-security available. The technologically secure environment is a big selling point, says Finholt. "These companies are involved in national security projects and need to be able to send and receive secure voice and data communications," he says. "They also want assurance that competitors and other contractors cannot pick up their faxes or mail, tap their phones, hack their computer or get into their office."

The state ponied up originally because it sees the park as an economic development play, spearheaded by its university system. The state university system has a campus 30 miles from the base at Rolla, which is home to a well-respected engineering school. It also houses one of Missouri's four Innovation Centers, which provide technical assistance and incubation services to new and expanding tech businesses.

Park officials say it could house 1,000 jobs when built out, but didn't say how many of those would be new jobs. The university also hopes it will help to build a larger pool of in-state jobs for graduates as well as provide work experience for graduate and undergrad students.

The university is the park's managing partner and owns 55% of it. The Missouri Technology Corp., appointed by the governor to represent the state's interests, owns the rest.

This isn't the first time the state and university system have teamed up on a business park. The Missouri Research Park, in St. Charles, was founded in 1985 and boasts 15 companies and 1,700 jobs.

While most landlords want their tenants to sign a three-to-five-year lease, the technology park offers furnished, short-term space, says Angela Lieb of OffiStart Business Centers, who worked as a consultant on the project. "You land a contract with the government, you move in quickly and have a fully-equipped furnished office space within 24 hours," she says.