The construction site at the new Military Business Park was so muddy Tuesday that a groundbreaking for the park's first project was held miles away on a patio.

Dignitaries wearing hard hats used golden shovels to flip sand to mark the start of construction for the Partnership for Defense Innovation's Research and Development Lab. The 10,000-square-foot complex is expected to be complete in the fall.

"Mud is often a sign of progress," U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell said in his remarks.

The 230-acre site is in the park on Santa Fe Drive between the All American Expressway and Bragg Boulevard. Earth-moving equipment sits on the edge of the cleared site.

The R&D lab will be the first tenant of the park, which is about a mile from the southern boundary of Fort Bragg. The lab's capabilities will include the evaluation of radio frequency communications equipment.

The lab works with government, universities and private industry to develop technology for U.S. Special Operations Command. The Army's Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate has a $3.7million contract with the Partnership for Defense Innovation to use the lab in support of special operations forces.

The partnership "expects to be the anchor that attracts others" to the business park, said board Chairman Bobby J. Ervin during the ceremony held at Fayetteville Technical Community College's Horticulture Educational Center.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge talked about jobs.

"As Fort Bragg expands, there will be new opportunities for job growth and business expansion in our area, and PDI will make sure that local businesses are able to take advantage of the opportunities that come from this growth," he said.

The lab will "provide the capability to integrate, test, gather metrics and provide innovative approaches for rapidly developing and deploying wireless network devices," according to the partnership's 2009 annual report.

Billy King, chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, described the project as "another step forward in the transformation of our community as we prepare for BRAC."

The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure law directs that Forces Command and U.S. Army Reserve Command move to Fort Bragg from Atlanta next year. The four-star Forscom headquarters is expected to attract defense contractors.

"My prediction is this will not be an only child," Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne said, referring to the business park's first building.

Dohn Broadwell Sr. and his companies are the park's developer. The city of Fayetteville and Cumberland County have been awarded a series of federal grants to help cover costs for road paving and utilities construction.

The park has potential for 1.5 million square feet of Class A office space that could ultimately employ 4,500, officials have said.