NRI group converts US base into technology park

A group of Indian-American investors acquired the KI Sawyer Air Force Base property in Michigan and converted it into a technology park and ...

A group of Indian-American investors acquired the KI Sawyer Air Force Base property in Michigan and converted it into a technology park and model city.

Telkite Inc., a real estate investment firm, founded by New Jersey-based entrepreneur Subrat Patnaik recently closed the deal, one of the largest undertaken by the Indian-American community in the US. The financial details of the deal have not yet been released.

Patnaik and Raj K. Patel, an investment banker and owner of Alpha Capital, said in exclusive interviews that they hoped to develop the land into a full-fledged technology park with a market capitalisation of more than $250 million.

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‘‘It is unique in the sense that this was a totally Indian-American community effort and despite us being a small company we beat out the competition,’’ said Raj Patel.

Patel said the group plans to complement the Sawyer project with a similar technology park in India.

Telkite’s nearest competitor was a publicly-traded company with a market capitalisation of nearly $3 billion.

Telkite has agreed to purchase in phases and convert to civilian use the 1.5 million square feet of office and light industrial space and nearly 1,500 acres of raw land that comprised the non-Airport assets of the Base. The Airport is operated by the County of Marquette, Michigan, which will continue to operate it even after the takeover. The base was decommissioned in 1995.

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Some companies have already moved into the property. B3 Computers recently moved its corporate headquarters from San Diego, California to Telkite Technology Park, as did Silver Field Biometrics.