Secret Development

[KC ROO]

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Posted on Wed, Jul. 09, 2003

KC, Kentucky city vie to be home to supersecure computer complex
By RICK ALM
The Kansas City Star

Kansas City and Lexington, Ky., are in competition for a supersecure, underground computer complex that could house such tenants as the military or the Department of Homeland Security.

Denver-based Endur LLC, with strong military and government ties, and Calpine Corp., a geothermal and natural gas energy producer based in San Jose, Calif., are partners in the potential Northland project, which carries a price tag of at least $60 million.

The tenants' identities won't be disclosed.

"These projects are very high-level and very secretive," said Endur real estate director Alec Wynne. "You won't see an Endur logo on the facility. You won't know we're there."

Wynne said the decision to locate in Missouri or Kentucky is expected within 60 days.

Publicly traded Calpine, which bills itself as the largest geothermal energy company in the world, is a 50 percent owner with Aquila Inc. in the Aries gas-fired electric generating plant in Pleasant Hill. It has interests in about 80 other U.S. power plants.

The Endur-Calpine project, if it comes to this area, will bring more than 200 jobs and occupy more than 250,000 square feet at Hunt Midwest's underground SubTropolis facility in Kansas City, North, near Missouri 210 east of Interstate 435. About 75 of the workers would be Endur staff. The rest would work for clients leasing the space.

The partners are seeking Kansas City Council approval to sell $60 million worth of city-backed Chapter 100 revenue bonds, which would be underwritten by project revenues, not taxpayers.

The city's Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority is expected to hold a hearing on the project today, and a council committee could act this week.

Chapter 100 assistance bonds have been used sparingly by City Hall and would assist the company in equipping the facility without paying sales taxes or property taxes, since the city would hold title to financed assets during a 10-year tax break period.

The company would make a payment to school districts and others in place of property taxes for an amount up to 50 percent of the project's value.

Details kept secret

Wynne said he could not disclose proposed tenants or discuss details about the project, about Endur or about Endur's proposed staff, which would include its own security contingent. He said construction could take up to three years.

In public literature, Endur describes itself as a builder of "mission-critical" computer campuses that feature "hardened perimeters" and up to six levels of increasingly tight security zones.

At the core are Endur's 10,000-square-foot, leasable "Data SuperCenter Nodules," which can tap into satellite, microwave and other data transmission technology. They also offer Calpine's backup energy systems, which are independent of the local power grid.

Wynne said the pending project would be the first campus of its kind to be built by Endur.

It has all the earmarks of a secure government facility, but Wynne would not confirm that or elaborate.

"Given the names of some of our advisers, you can probably ascertain that," he said. "But I can't disclose that to the public."

Endur draws much of its executive talent and advisory assistance from military, government and corporate America's top ranks.

Key officials identified on an Endur Web site include retired Army general and Desert Storm commander H. Norman Schwartzkopf; former Air Force chief of staff Larry D. Welch, now president of the federally chartered Institute for Defense Analysis; former U.S. Rep. Vic Fazio; Ray Neel, a former deputy chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and chief of staff to Al Gore; and former CIA deputy director Richard Calder.

Others include executives and former executives with military contractors Lockheed Martin, Boeing Co., McDonnell Douglas Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp.

Also represented are officials and former officials with AT&T, IBM and the Securities and Exchange Commission, plus others with experience in the rail industry, government construction contracting, merchant banking, cable television and electronics.

Also listed are former congressional staff aides, former deputy Cabinet officers, lawyers, and consultants with backgrounds in international policy, bioterrorism, science, technology and crisis management.

Wynne said some of Endur's more than two dozen advisers also are equity partners in the limited liability corporation. He would not identify them.

Endur's founder is John Whitcomb, described as a designer of technology and data center facilities the last 25 years for government and Fortune 100 clients. He did not return a call.

A Homeland Security spokesman also did not respond to an inquiry concerning the Endur-Calpine project.

Wynne said Endur LLC was spun off from Whitcomb's 2-year-old Endur Inc. when it was acquired by Calpine in May.

Endur LLC's chairman is Joseph T. Gorman, a former chairman of TRW Inc., and a member of the president's Export Council and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Endur LLC's corporate secretary is James R. Ellis, a retired lieutenant general, former commander of the Third Army and former deputy to the assistant secretary of defense for international security.

Role of incentives

Wynne offered few details in response to questions about the project:

• Would active military personnel work at the facility or be assigned to guard the facility?

"I can't disclose those particulars. The security is modeled after military bases. We cannot say we're military."

• Who would be Endur's tenants?

"One to three companies would take down the space. We only deal with Fortune 500 companies and large government entities."

• Would this be a Homeland Security facility?

"I can't answer that. The government is a big source of business for us, especially with homeland defense."

• What factors will decide where this facility is built?

"Incentives are going to play a big role, and the flexibility of the real estate. There are pluses and minuses for both cities. Lexington is a bit more aggressive on its incentives, while Kansas City has a leg up on the real estate's flexibility."

Wynne said the project eventually could expand to 1 million square feet.

"There's also the quality-of-life issue," he said. "We're going to have a tough decision to make."

City officials in Lexington are still learning about the project and have not yet approved an incentive package, said Julian Beard, the city's economic development director.

Another public agency in Lexington has dealt with Endur so far, and Beard said little information had been made public.

"The company asked for deep and dark confidentiality, and we've honored that," he said. "I wish I knew more about it."


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[KCN]

Very interesting

One more reason for our opponents to nuke KC if it gets built here

[KCPowercat]

what opponents

[GuyInLenexa]

I am certain that KC is already a target, even in the 1960's any city of 50,000 or more was a target.
KC is a railhead, large warehousing and distribution center, food storage center, etc.
I do not think this new facility would make us a bigger bull's eye for our enemies.
Who ever they are.

Lenexa

[kcteen]

and there's that "little" airforce base nearby...

[dangerboy]

Anyone up for a showing of the KC classic "The Day After" ? ? ?

[QueSi2Opie]

That type of warfare can only be carried out by our current allies, the former Soviet Union. Anyone else would only have a handful of nukes with the intent of bombing the most populated American cities in order to inflict the most casualties.

[tat2kc]

I used to live at the base of cheyene mountian in colorado. Now there's a target!!!