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A new manufacturer has purchased a 100,000-square-foot building in southern Redmond for $3.5 million. BasX LLC plans to build precision engineered products that could have industrial applications around the country.

The building, east of U.S. Route 97 at the Southwest Airport Way exit, has been vacant since 2007, when Wal-Mart opted to open a new supercenter in northern Redmond.

BasX manufactures products including modular hospital units, power storage units and cooling solutions. Customers include the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the military, company founder and president David Benson said.

The building renovation to suit BasX could cost $3 million. The company might create up to 150 high-paying jobs, Benson said.

“There’s no question that we will be able to hire locally to fill the positions we create,” Benson said. “When there are opportunities for employment in Central Oregon, there is no shortage of people who will come seeking employment.”

BasX is expected to offer average annual wages around $60,000, according to Redmond economic development officials. By comparison, the average in Deschutes County is $36,000.

Benson he expects the building renovation to start by early spring 2014 and operations to begin in June, he said.