by Michelle Z. Askeland
Relocation and expansion activ-
ity is occurring regularly within the
Denver metro region, with 20 com-
panies making announcements this
year, including 13 that are new to
the region and seven existing expan-
sions, according to Laura Brandt,
economic development director with
Metro Denver Economic Develop-
ment Corp. These companies span
across the metro Denver area, with
sizable pockets of activity in Aurora,
Broomfield and Denver.
As of Aug. 22, 57 prospect com-
panies have begun dialogues with
Brandt’s office this year, with over
50 percent of those companies inter-
ested in office real estate to satisfy
office (12 companies), call center (10
companies) or headquarter (seven
companies) needs, said Brandt. The
rest of the prospect activity is divid-
ed among distribution, manufactur-
ing, research and development, data
centers and others.
Within the office user sector, IT
software, business services and
financial services are the busiest, but
the group includes aerospace, avia-
tion, energy, food and beverage, and
health care companies as well.
“You’re seeing this very diverse
mix of industries throughout the
area – so even though we have been
concerned about energy pulling back
– there have been companies from
everything – health care, financial
services, various business services,
creative industries – that have all
been moving in to fill the space,”
said Patty Silverstein, president and
chief economist with Development
Research Partners.
One thriving sector is financial
services, mainly on the investment
side, even as there has been some
pull back in typical banking facili-
ties, she said. The Charles Schwab
Corp. expansion in Lone Tree is one
example of this activity.
Comcast’s decision to expand with
a call center in Fort Collins, on the
HP campus, was made after looking
at 10 cities in the western part of the
country. Fort Collins’ demographics
and the state’s favorable incentives
as well as the site’s strong central
location, access to amenities and
overall analytics all contributed to
the decision, said Todd Roebken,
managing director with JLL, and one
of the brokers who negotiated the
deal on Comcast’s behalf. The com-
pany is bullish on Colorado, largely
City of Lone Tree
In late 2015, construction was completed on the 650,000-square-foot Charles Schwab campus. Currently the largest primary employer in Douglas County, the company will have
the capacity to employ 5,000 in Lone Tree when it completes it growth in the next two years.
INSIDE
