Colorado Real Estate Journal - June 1, 2016
The right location – it’s a critical component to your company’s ability to succeed. So where does your company belong? It belongs in a place where innovation thrives; where you can find the talent you need, costs you can afford, a business environment that will foster your company’s growth, and a lifestyle your employees desire. Few places in the U.S. meet all of these criteria. Longmont is one of them. Longmont is a community of 90,000 on the northern edge of metro Denver. Boulder County, as the nation’s most educated, is home to a number of advanced technology companies that are engaged in cutting-edge R&D, and the translation of ideas into products. Names like IBM, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Intel, Seagate, Xilinx, Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace, Sierra Nevada and others populate the regional landscape. In Longmont alone, more than 220 global companies have a presence here and employ more than 12,300. In addition, a network of companies providing services, products and amenities exist to support these industries … all in a community that provides unparalleled quality of life. We believe you will discover, as they have, that Longmont offers a rare opportunity to ensure the success of your site selection process. Longmont and Boulder County have the talented workforce you are seeking. Longmont provides access to nearly 1.5 million workers within easy commuting distance. As part of Colorado’s Technology Corridor, Longmont is located in the center of a highly educated workforce, research universities, federal laboratories, and advanced technology industry clusters. In addition to the St. Vrain Valley School District (the state’s 7th largest) and the Boulder County campus of Front Range Community College, Longmont is conveniently located in close proximity to the University of Colorado (20 minutes), Colorado State University (40 minutes), University of Denver and the Colorado School of Mines (60 minutes). Longmont provides access to state, national and international markets via highway, rail and air. We have a rail-served industrial park within the city, as well as Vance Brand Municipal Airport. We are only 10 minutes from an interstate highway and less than an hour from Denver International Airport. Longmont has a long history of investing in the infrastructure necessary to meet the growth needs of the community. It currently has the best water supply along the Front Range, a dedicated portion of sales tax for transportation improvements, rail-served industrial sites, our own electric utility and generation arm (which recently doubled its transmission capacity), a fiber-optic loop and a wireless network that serve the city, and a full-service city government. Longmont is building a Gigabit City. The City of Longmont has a 17-mile, 144 fiber-optic ring and 45 miles of fiber laterals that provides broadband services to City facilities, limited businesses and limited residents in Longmont. Longmont has begun a Fiberto-the-Premise build-out that will pass all 37,000+ businesses and residents in Longmont. Every business and resident in Longmont will have access to affordable fiber-based gigabit services. As a true gigabit city, Longmont is positioned to be a leader in digital communications and a global information hub. Business success is also a function of costs and Longmont provides a very competitive cost environment. From electrical rates that are among the lowest in Colorado and attractively priced real estate for leasing space or building facilities, to the most affordable housing in Boulder County, operational savings in Longmont help add to the bottom line. In the end, your company is about your people. Having an unsurpassed quality of life makes it easier to recruit and retain the talent you need. In addition to our local amenities (Longmont Symphony, Longmont Theatre Company and Boulder County outdoors), we are also located within an hour of exceptional entertainment (five professional sports teams, the Denver Center for Performing Arts, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver Art Museum), and within two hours of world-class recreation (skiing, mountain biking). Add to this a climate that boasts nearly 300 days of sunshine and mild, semi-arid environs and you quickly learn why talent is easy to attract and retain in the Longmont area. The Longmont Economic Development Partnership (EDP) exists for the sole purpose of retaining and creating new jobs in Longmont. We are the front door for business in Longmont. We have a wealth of resources available to assist business attraction, retention, expansion, and creation. Data sets including demographics, utilities, taxes, incentives, education, transportation, major employers, labor force, health care, community services, etc., are available on our website, www.longmont.org, or upon request. Longmont offers a superior location for your company’s operation and the Longmont EDP can help make the process of evaluating the city as smooth and effortless as possible.