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2011 a record year for prospect activity in Metro Denver
In 2011, the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (Metro Denver EDC) worked with a record 169 new prospect companies. Approximately 29 companies announced expansion or relocation to Metro Denver for a total of new 3,600 jobs expected with more than $420 million in capital investment in the region. Below are the five major company locations and expansions for the year.
- GE Energy announced plans in October to build the nation's largest solar panel manufacturing facility in Aurora, where it will create 355 jobs over the next three to five years. Colorado is already home to GE Energy's thin-film solar pilot line, where joint technology advancements from GE's Global Research Center and PrimeStar Solar have been validated and tested.
- Arrow Electronics, Inc.
announced in October that its Colorado operations would become the company's global headquarters. Formerly headquartered in Melville, N.Y., Arrow Electronics is a Fortune 140 company with 12,700 employees worldwide. Arrow brings technology solutions to a breadth of markets, including telecommunications, information systems, transportation, medical, industrial, and consumer electronics.
- DaVita,
a leading provider of kidney care services, announced in November that it would expand two portions of its business in Metro Denver. DaVita Clinical Research will add medical, technical, and scientific jobs at a facility that will attract the world's leading healthcare innovators. DaVita will also create an inbound call center to help patients locate dialysis services. Company officials estimate both projects will bring as many as 200 new jobs to Metro Denver. DaVita moved its headquarters from California to Denver in 2009, and is constructing a new $101 million, 14-story, 256,400-square-foot headquarters in downtown Denver.
- Bridgepoint Education Inc.,
a San Diego-based provider of postsecondary education services focused on providing greater access to higher education, announced in January that it will open a new location in Denver, anticipating adding 500 new jobs at the site. In March 2011, the company signed a lease for 151,331 square feet in the Park Central building located in downtown Denver. In August, Bridgepoint announced an expansion, leasing an additional 80,000 square feet in downtown Denver.
- The Coleman Company,
an international leader in the innovation and marketing of outdoor products, announced in December that it would open a new Leadership Center in the Denver West area in unincorporated Jefferson County. The company will occupy a 36,500-square-foot log cabin office building that it originally built in the mid-90s. Coleman says the metro area provides it a platform to design, market, and launch its diverse portfolio of products.
Learn more:
» News and Deals - metrodenver.org |
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Colorado vying for satellite patent and trademark office
 The Metro Denver region is in the running for one of two new satellite patent offices to be opened in the United States in the next three years.
The newly signed
America Invents Act
allows the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to create satellite locations across the country in order to better connect patent filers and innovators, decrease patent application backlog, improve patent examiner recruitment and retention, and to improve the quality of patent examination. Colorado Senators Udall and Bennet introduced and helped pass section 23 of the AIA, requiring the establishment of satellite patent offices.
Denver lawyers Tom Franklin, John Posthumus, and Michael Drapkin have championed the region as a perfect location due to its high per capita rate of science and technology degree holders and moderate living costs.
Posthumus estimates that at least 100 new patent examiner positions would be created with the potential location, in addition to creating high demand for intellectual property attorneys.
"It would also boost Metro Denver's profile in the eyes of high-tech companies nationwide," he said.
The Metro Denver EDC has partnered with the Intellectual Properties division of the Colorado Bar Association and Senator Bennet's office to manage the submittal process.
"Getting this office would be a major coup and would further establish the region and state as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship," explains Pam Reichert, vice president of the Metro Denver EDC.
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FOX Business segment points to Denver as best housing investment market
 Radio host and CEO of the real estate investment site OwnAmerica.com
, Greg Rand, pegged Denver as the top city for investment opportunity in light of the country's volatile housing market during a Dec. 28, 2011, interview on Fox Business.
Citing an outstanding quality of life, unemployment below the national average, and a foreclosure rate half the national average, Rand told Fox Financial Market Anchor Lori Rothman that Denver's "fundamentals are incredible," and that the city is seeing in-migration from all over the country.
"They're pulling out of the northeast. Pulling out of the southeast. Pulling out of California," explained Rand regarding in-migration to Denver. "If you find places that draw people like magnets, you see support for housing prices and rental prices."
Rand highlighted Denver housing statistics from the mid-90s to 2011, noting that Denver didn't suffer a housing collapse during the period, just a correction, with a bounce back again.
Click here to see the full segment (4:02) on FOX's website or on YouTube.
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