The multi-million dollar agreement states that the university will lease the buildings for 15 years and exercise additional options to bring the term of the lease up to 48 years. It also gives Carnegie Mellon the right of first refusal to lease buildings 17 and 20 on the six-building quadrangle.

Carnegie Mellon University's West Coast campus and High Dependability Computing Program have been housed in Building 17 since 2001. Now, expanding educational and research programs require additional space. Building 20 was used as an officers club on the former naval base and could house 50 to 60 people, including students, visiting faculty and short-term visitors.

"We are delighted to sign this lease agreement with Carnegie Mellon University, one of the world's premiere institutions of higher education, especially in the area of computer science,'' says NASA Ames Center Director G. Scott Hubbard. "This agreement marks a significant milestone in the evolution of the NASA Research Park. The combination of Carnegie Mellon University's high-dependability computing research focus and its new information technology graduate program will serve to advance NASA's mission as well as set the stage for broader collaboration with Silicon Valley's high-tech community."