BAE Systems, a United Kingdom-based international defense company, will relocate at least 200 employees to a new 3-story building at Liberty Station in Point Loma come June, company officials said. The development now under construction reignited questions recently about a related, large parking structure plan previously submitted to the Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) for approval. BAE Systems specializes in information technology and has contracts with the navy. The company plans to start moving employees into the 105,000-square-foot facility in June. A 10-year lease signed last year between Liberty Station developer the Corky McMillin Cos. and BAE Systems does not provide for any additional parking, said Jim Burghard, BAE Systems director of facilities. “[The lease included] open parking in the entire [Liberty Station] complex … [but] there were no designated parking spots for that building,” Burghard said. Residents and community planners have debated construction of a 5-story parking structure at Liberty Station since developers floated the idea a few years ago. Some community members opposed a parking structure because of size and because of the potential for increased traffic congestion around Liberty Station. Some residents were also concerned with air pollution from car emissions, according to former board chair Cynthia Conger. The PCPB supported building a 3-story parking garage at Liberty Station in 2006. Any proposal for a future parking structure, however, would have to come back before the PCPB. BAE Systems administrators plan to move only a portion of their employees to Liberty Station from their current Rancho Bernardo facility. The Rancho Bernardo facility now houses about 1,500 employees and will remain open, according to BAE Systems officials. BAE Systems employs about 3,000 people in and around San Diego, including facilities in National City, Vista, Temecula and Downtown. BAE Systems provides wireless communication, networking and other information technologies to the U.S. Department of Defense, Space and Naval Air Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) as well as to other nations, according to BAE Systems officials. The company will share the 105,000-square-foot building at Liberty Station with at least one other tenant. It is unclear who the other tenant, or tenants, will be.
