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Page 32 — COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL — December 7-December 20, 2016
Economic Development News
The Colorado Springs Region-
al Business Alliance will change
its name to the Colorado Springs
Chamber of Commerce and EDC
Dec. 19.
“After the merger of the Cham-
ber andEDC, the BusinessAlliance
needed a new and neutral corpo-
rate identity. Our current name
served that purpose well, but it
didn’t explain who we were or
what we did,” said Dirk Draper,
president and CEO of the Busi-
ness Alliance. “We are excited to
embrace the history and purpose
of our organization with our new
name.”
The board of directors unani-
mously approved the decisionOct.
27. Matt Coleman, chairman of
the board for 2016-2017 said, “The
further you get from downtown
Colorado Springs, the less people
know what the Business Alliance
is or does. When I do business in
Denver and across the nation, I
always end up explaining that we
are the Chamber and EDC for the
region. This name change clears up
confusion and explains succinctly
and directly the purpose and scope
of our organization.”
“The Regional Business Alliance
plays a critical role in economic
development and job creation in
the Pikes Peak Region,” Mayor
John Suthers said in support. “I'm
confident the name change for the
organization will serve to enhance
its identity locally and nationally
as the organization who plays that
role in our community.”
“This isn’t a decision we made
lightly,” Draper stated. “We have
consulted marketing and brand-
ing professionals, stakeholders and
members. The unifying message
they’ve told us is that ‘this is the
right move, and now is the right
time.’”
The change will take place in
conjunction with the launch of the
Colorado Springs Regional Busi-
ness Alliance’s new website www.
,
which has been developed in con-
sultationwithDevelopment Coun-
sellors International.
Updates…
n The annual Business and
Industry Gala recently recognized
companies and individuals mak-
ing“ColoradoSprings agreat place
to live and do business.”
The 2016 award winners were:
Pamela Shockley-Zalabak, Ph.D.,
Business Citizen of the Year; Altia
Inc., Company of the Year; Lee
Spirits Co., New Business of the
Year; Blue Dot Place, Community
Investment of the Year; and Hal
Littrell, Military Affairs Award of
Excellence.s
The Grand Junction Economic
Partnership congratulated Page
Tucker, founder and CEO of Pro-
Star Geocorp, for earning the 2016
APEX Technology Entrepreneur
ExcellenceAward.
The APEX awards, which cele-
brate Colorado’s technology lead-
ers and innovators, were present-
ed by the Colorado Technology
Association.
“Although entrepreneur of the
year is considered tobe an individ-
ual’s accomplishment, this award
would not be possible without the
truly talented and hardworking
team that is behind me, as well as
the support of the entire business
community inGrand Junctionand
throughout the state,” said Tucker
upon accepting the award, also cit-
ing ColoradoMesa University, the
Greater Grand Junction Chamber
of Commerce and theGrand Junc-
tion Economic Partnership as key
contributors to his success.
Tucker further commended
Andrea Young, CEO of the Colo-
rado Technology Association, and
her entire organization; SumaNal-
lapati, secretary of technology at
the Governor’s Office of Informa-
tionTechnology; andAnnaEwing,
chief operating officer of the Office
of Economic Development and
International Trade, for their sup-
port of companies like ProStar,
and encouragement of innovation
and growth in communities like
Grand Junction and throughout
the Western Slope.
Tucker’s startup, ProStar Geo-
corp, provides geospatial intelli-
gence software that is designed to
streamline and improve enterprise
operations through innovative
and award-winning cloud and
mobile applications. The com-
pany is headquartered in Grand
Junction, with additional offices
in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ear-
lier this year, ProStar was one of
the first businesses to be accept-
ed into Colorado’s new tax relief
program, known as Jump-Start,
which allows businesses to oper-
ate free of state and local taxes for
up to eight years. Simultaneously,
the company received a grant
fromColorado’sAdvanced Indus-
tryAccelerator Grant Program.
“We are excited for what this
award means for Page, ProStar
Geocorp and for our community,”
said Kristi Pollard, GJEP executive
director. “Page shares a common
goal with GJEP to turn Colorado’s
Grand Valley into a recognized
tech hub. This award demon-
strates that the rest of the state is
beginning to notice the innovation
and entrepreneurial spirit brewing
on the Western Slope and brings
us one step closer to realizing our
goal.”s
The Metro Denver Economic
Development Corp. recently
released the 12th edition of Toward
a More Competitive Colorado, an
annual benchmark report of 111
measures analyzing Colorado's
strengths, challenges and opportu-
nities for future job growth and
economic expansion.
First published in 2005, the report
evaluates Colorado's competitive
position against the other 49 states.
The study is researched by the
Metro Denver EDC's chief econo-
mist, Patty Silverstein, and Senior
Economist DavidHansen of Devel-
opment Research Partners, and is
presentedincooperationwithWells
Fargo.
New data shows that Colorado
dominated nationally in attracting
bothworkers and jobs, rankingNo.
2 in 2015 for adding population
and No. 5 during the same period
for employment growth. Notably,
Colorado again retained its No. 2
ranking (behind Massachusetts)
as the nation’s second-most highly
educated state.
“Having the best and brightest
workers is a key differentiator for
Coloradowhenitcomestogrowing
our industry base and appealing
to expanding companies and site
selection consultants,” explained
TomClark, CEO of the Metro Den-
ver EDC. “The quest for talent,
whether it be attracting or growing
a skilled workforce, is one of the
top drivers of today’s site selection
decisions and what makes a state
themost competitive in today’s eco-
nomic development arena.”
Another area where Colorado
stands out nationally is in inno-
vation, ranking in the top 10 for
13 of the 19 innovation measures
included in the study. The state
garnered a No. 2 ranking (behind
Massachusetts) in the Milken Insti-
tute’s State Science and Technology
Index, which lauded Colorado for
its human capital investments and
commitment to clean technology.
Colorado’s performance in other
key innovationmeasures:
•High-tech employment (third)
• Small Business Innovation
Research grants (third)
• NASA Prime Contract awards
(third)
• Initial public offerings (fourth)
• State Innovation Index (fifth)
• Proprietors as a Percentage of
Total Employment (fifth)
• Venture Capital Investments
per $1,000 of stateGDP (sixth)
• Clean Tech Leadership Index
(sixth)
•Number of newbusinesses per
1,000 employees (seventh)
• Startup density (eighth)
• Average high-tech worker
wage (eighth)
• Patents granted per 1 million
Residents (ninth)
Alternatively, a key threat to the
state’s competitiveness, according
to Silverstein, are challenges facing
the higher education systemrelated
to fundingandgraduatingstudents
inkeyskill sets that arevital toColo-
rado’s economic future.
“Despite our efforts throughout
TMCC’s history to inform policy
makers and propel our higher edu-
cation challenges to be top of mind,
we are concerned that we haven’t
made any progress,” said Silver-
stein.
TMCC also focuses on rising
housing costs as a disadvantage
to Colorado’s competitiveness as a
leading state in which to live and
work. Analysis found that metro
Denver had the highest increase in
medianhomepriceamong the larg-
est metro areas in each state from
2014 to 2015, making it the nation’s
sixth-most-expensive housing mar-
ket.
“Housing is increasingly becom-
ing unaffordable in Colorado; we
view this as both a short- and long-
term challenge to our economic
competitiveness,” said Silverstein.
The 12th edition of TMCC also
analyzes Colorado's place as a
global competitor. The full report is
available on Metro Denver EDC’s
website.s
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