A proposed deal Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller once said was a “game-changing partnership” for the city has gone bust.
The Theia Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based satellite company, was supposed to break ground this year on a sprawling campus near the Albuquerque International Sunport. The proposed Orion Center would use the 116-acre space at Girard Blvd. and Gibson Blvd. to build satellites, research and testing facilities, offices, a gym, food hall, hotel, and seven-floor parking structure.
“If this actually plays out the way the company intends it to, this will be a transformative project for central New Mexico,” Keller announced about a year ago.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller
| Facebook
Those plans are gone, according to a report from KRQE. A New York investment firm that funded the Theia Group with $200 million is suing to get its money back, claiming the Theia Group hasn't done anything to get things off the ground.
A Manhattan judge put the Theia Group in receivership, according to federal documents. An outsider will run the company with the purpose of paying back its lenders. The Theia Group’s remaining valuable asset is its license to launch and operate satellites.
The city of Albuquerque issued the following statement to KRQE about the lawsuit and demise of the Orion Center project.
“We are always looking at opportunities to create good jobs in Albuquerque, and the Sunport is a key asset for development and job creation. Due to recent litigation that TGI is involved in, the Sunport has made the determination not to move forward with this potential lease, and we are now looking at new potential development opportunities for that parcel of land. The city did not offer TGI any economic development incentives while exploring this lease.”
The Theia Group wanted to launch 112 earth-imaging satellites to form a network around the globe. The project was intended to create 1,000 jobs.