(Lander, WY) – Today, April 8th, the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) unanimously approved the Business Ready Community (BRC) Grant and Loan Program project the City of Lander submitted to the Wyoming Business Council.
They were approved for a $3 million grant and $2.7 million loan combination for economic development. The project is for the construction of a 22,500 sq/ft facility on 1.6 acres of privately-owned property for the new Maven World Headquarters.
Maven entered into an agreement with the City of Lander and the Lander Economic Development Association (LEDA) to build this new facility adjacent to LEDA’s Enterprise Park and the Central Wyoming College’s Lander campus.
The property was purchased by Maven and will be donated to the City of Lander, prior to construction, as part of their required cash match for the program. The value of the land will be deducted from the total project price that Maven will have to pay when they purchase the facility from the City – which by state law cannot happen for a minimum of 5 years.
LEDA, which is the designated economic development organization for Lander, will serve as the project manager and landlord for the facility. Maven will lease the facility from LEDA over that 5-year minimum requirement.
All of the proceeds LEDA receives, an estimated $2.2M, will be used to fund additional economic development in the Lander area.
The Maven Headquarters will include approximately 6,000 sq/ft of office and administration space and over 16,000 sq/ft of warehouse and production space.
This new space will greatly increase Maven’s ability to assemble and repair optics as well as offer new opportunities for expanded product lines.
This will also bring utilities and access to additional properties for future growth within Enterprise Park – a goal for the land over the past several years.
“The City of Lander is excited for this award for the Maven HQ Project because it not only retains 12 existing jobs but stimulates our economic growth by adding 23 jobs over the next 5 years,” explained Assistant Mayor RaJean Stube-Fossen. “It also provides LEDA a revenue stream for the next 5 years so they can turn around and assist Lander in future economic developments.”
Overall, Maven is forecasted to grow to over 30 employees within the 7-year reporting period and strives to be an anchor business for future outdoor recreation business recruitment.
The City of Lander will manage the construction bid process which is slated to begin mid-June. The hope is to be under contract by August 1st and ideally have the building envelope up before winter to keep construction going during the snowy months.
County 10 will share the latest updates on the project as it progress.