St. John Properties has begun construction of three buildings that will add more than 135,000 square feet of space to its 413-acre Government and Technology Enterprise (The GATE) business community in the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County. The project includes one single-story office building and "flex" buildings designed for office use or research and development. Scheduled for completion this summer, the three buildings are the last structures in the 350,000-square-foot, six-building first phase of The GATE. Construction of a second phase is expected to begin in May. St. John has signed leases for The GATE with CACI International (60,000 square feet), Raytheon Co. (75,000 square feet) and L-3 Communications (75,000 square feet). St. John has the capacity to build up to 2 million square feet of multistory and single-story space, as well as research and development flex-office space at The GATE, and additional buildings inside or outside the secure perimeter of Aberdeen Proving Ground.

- Edward Gunts