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Year-End 2008/January 2009
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Governor, Denver Mayor announce stimulus plans
To promote Colorado's competitiveness, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has announced his job creation and economic development proposals for Colorado's 2009 legislature to consider.
"Over the past two years, we've made smart, strategic and aggressive investments to help protect Colorado residents and retain Colorado jobs and businesses," said Gov. Ritter. "These proposals will make Colorado more competitive for new jobs. They will help small businesses get through this crisis, and they will allow the state to provide a modern workforce for the 21st century New Energy Economy."
Gov. Ritter's proposals include:
- Providing tax credit incentives for companies that create at least 20 new jobs.
- Providing hundreds, possibly thousands, of small and family-owned businesses with immediate access to capital and credit through a Colorado Credit Reserve Program.
- Expanding Colorado First workforce training programs at community colleges, particularly for New Energy Economy jobs in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy conservation.
- Investing in New Energy Economy companies, projects and jobs through the Colorado Clean Energy Fund.
In addition, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has proposed speeding up construction of over $1 billion in already approved and funded infrastructure projects and Denver Public Schools projects to add jobs and put money into the local economy.
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Energy companies top 2008 prospect activity
 The Metro Denver region had a banner year in 2008 when it comes to prospect activity and capital investment -- particularly in the renewable energy industry.
In the first quarter of 2008,
ConocoPhillips announced it would locate a new Global Technology and Corporate Learning Center at the former Storage Technology campus in Louisville, CO. The country's third-largest energy company and number five on Fortune magazine's top 500 companies list, ConocoPhillips purchased the 432-acre site for $55.6 million.
The company will raze and rebuild the campus to make way for a global technology center that will be the hub for its research and development in making liquid fuels from renewable sources. ConocoPhillips will also create a worldwide learning center at the site where it will bring thousands of employees each year to train on new energy technology applications. The new campus will be operational by 2012.
The Metro Denver EDC and economic development partners throughout the state supported legislation in 2008 to simplify the state's corporate tax structure through the passage of single-factor tax appportionment based on a company's sales in the state only.
And
Vestas Wind Systems expanded its investment in the state in 2008, opening in March its first North American manufacturing plant in Windsor. The $62 million, 400,000-square-foot facility will produce 1,200 wind turbine blades a year, with 650 new manufacturing jobs.
The company announced in August that it would significantly expand in Colorado with two new facilities employing 1,300 people in Brighton. One facility, a wind turbine blade manufacturing plant, will supplement its existing blade production facility in Windsor. The second factory will assemble nacelles, housings for turbine generators and other sensitive components. The nacelle factory is Vestas' largest and the first such factory in the U.S. The company also announced it will build a $250 million tower factory in Pueblo with 550 employees.
Overall in 2008, over $455 million in capital was invested in Metro Denver as a result of the Metro Denver EDC's direct prospect efforts.
Learn more:
On metrodenver.org:
» 2008 News Articles
»
News and Deals page
» Past issues of Metro Denver InSite
»
Metro Denver EDC Accomplishments
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Metro Denver's economy and real estate featured in The New York Times
Metro Denver received high-level national exposure in the Jan. 7, 2009 Square Feet real estate section of The New York Times.
The article, entitled
"Denver Aims to Ride Out the Recession," highlights the region's steady real estate market, diverse industries, expanding mass transit, and growth in renewable energy.
"This great placement positions Metro Denver as a region that has significant commercial development underway, with an economy that is performing far better than many areas of the country," said Janet Fritz, director of marketing for the Metro Denver EDC. "In these challenging national economic times, exposure like this is invaluable in our efforts to expand our competitiveness and bring new jobs to the region."
The article also mentions Governor Ritter's efforts to create a "New Energy" economy that is attracting companies like Vestas in addition to the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory's work to position Colorado as "a new world leader" in solar, wind, and biofuel research.
"A number of elements are cited as keeping this region afloat as other areas founder: investments in public transportation, aggressive economic development and, most significant, a two-decade campaign to diversify the region's economic base from oil and gas to alternative energy, aerospace, technology and telecommunications," wrote Luzadder.
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