The Aqualine Drones assembly line in Hartford's Stark Building. Photo courtesy of the office of Mayor Luke Bronin

An unusual tenant has taken up residence in Hartford’s landmark Stark Building: a manufacturing space for drones.

Aquiline Drones recently opened a 7,000-square-foot manufacturing and assembly space in the tower as part of a 15,000-square-foot lease, the company said in a statement.

“To quickly scale our commercial drone production capacity, our team decided to consolidate all manufacturing operations at our downtown Hartford headquarters to avoid the logistical challenges of managing a separate facility,” Aquiline chairman and CEO Barry Alexander said in a statement. “Safety and performance are key areas of focus in the UAV industry and this process enables us to maintain stringent quality control throughout the production cycle.”

The company aims to take advantage of “Made in America” requirements to license-build a series of commercial drones from French company Drone Volt. The company’s two flagship products come equipped with a smart camera and artificial intelligence and cloud computing features, the company said.

Gov. Ned Lamont and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin visited the company on Tuesday to highlight data that he said shows improvement in the state’s economy.

“Access to world class talent + region w/great quality of life + lower cost commercial space = a great place for businesses to scale,” Bronin tweeted after the visit.

For his part, Lamont suggested during his visit that this kind of flexibility towards what types of tenants are sought by office tower owners could be key to Hartford’s future, according to the Hartford Courant.

Aquiline plans also plans to build out a street-level showroom and retail store for drones and sensors in Hartford, plus a larger production facility in Bridgeport.