The center will be able to accommodate about six to 24 companies. Cisco Systems Inc. Most of those tech firms are larger, more established companies, not fragile dot-coms, said Ed Ely, director of land sales and marketing for Rouse Co., which developed Columbia. We've had a tremendous amount of growth in the optical and photonics fields. We're not really heavy on dot-com companies. We have a diversified technology base.
Fiber optics is a piece of it.
That is evident from the surge of construction in office parks in the area, such as Columbia Gateway, said Adam Nachlas, a senior leasing agent for Manekin LLC, headquartered in Gateway. Manekin plans to build six buildings with 250,000 square feet in Gateway to house larger tech companies. Two buildings will be completed by July, Nachlas said. Instead of getting a shaky tenant that's a start-up working on venture capital, we're getting the big boys.