Market Reports

Denver best between coasts – excerpts from an economic conference held in Denver in 2011:

  • “Anything between the coasts seemed to suffer, with the exception of Denver,” said Charles DiRocco, director and head of real estate research at PWC, who spoke at the new Embassy Suites hotel in downtown Denver.
  • The report had this to say about Denver: “The city makes progress positioning for 21st-century growth by strengthening its downtown core through a new light-rail and railroad hub to serve surrounding suburban nodes. As a result, the central business district becomes “the place to be,” and mixed-use, transit-oriented development helps anchor suburban districts.
  • This metro area also has one of the nation’s most modern airports, an attractive Rocky Mountain backdrop, relatively low business taxes, and a broad-based economy anchored by oil and gas, alternative energy, and defense companies.
  • “We can weather the storm better than most, and quality-of-life attributes will continue to attract people,” the report quoted one anonymous person as saying.
  • The report goes on to say that the office market has stabilized, and large blocks of space are relatively scarce, although it said that it is still a tenant’s market.

Apartments strong

  • The report notes that apartment owners should see “vacancies decline and rents tick up.” The report ranked the Denver apartment market No. 6 overall, just behind Seattle and above San Diego. San Francisco was ranked No. 1 for apartments.
  • Overall, the national sentiment, DiRocco said is that “we are coming off the bottom of 2011.” However, he cautioned that an increasing number of economists are starting to fear the possibility of a “double dip recession,” noting that the real estate market can’t fully recover unless there are more jobs.
  • Indeed, he noted that publicly traded companies now have more cash on hand than they did pre-recession, and they have built up their war chests with fewer people and less square footage.
  • He also said that housing is not necessarily going to be the draw for future generations as it has been in the past.
  • “For young people, their home is Facebook,” he joked.

With a competitive environment, sound transportation infrastructure, and low operational costs, Metro Denver is home to some of the country’s most successful and diverse companies.

Colorado ranked No. 1 for labor prospects and No. 6 for growth prospects by Forbes magazine, and as the fifth-best state in which to do business by CNBC in 2011.

As home to some of the fastest-growing counties in the nation, Metro Denver attracts businesses and keeps them. The competitive environment, sound transportation infrastructure, and variety of industries bring companies here. Metro Denver’s pervasive optimism, 300 annual days of sunshine, and its location at the doorstep of the Rocky Mountains makes it an extremely attractive place to be.

Companies that have established their corporate headquarters or division in the region over the past two years include Trulia.com, Bridgepoint Education, Inc., TriZetto Group Inc., juwi (wind energy), American Zephyr, SMA Solar Technology, Dot Hill Systems, Ascent Solar, Vestas, and United Launch Alliance. Siemens Energy, Inc. R&D, Bach Composite Industry, Taptu Ltd., and Aluwind chose this region for their first U.S. offices, and DaVita and REpower USA Corp. moved their U.S. headquarters to Denver.

Denver International Airport is just a few air hours from either coast, making it especially attractive for regional and international headquarters. The modern airport offers direct flights to some of the most active cities in Europe, Mexico, and Canada.

Some of the Companies Who have or are Relocating to Colorado are listed below:

DaVita named 2011 Deal of the Year

  • The Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation named DaVita the Deal of the Year award winner at its Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon on April 7, 2011, recognizing the company for its significant economic impact to the region through new job creation and capital investment.
  • DaVita, a Fortune 500 provider of kidney care services, announced it would move its corporate headquarters to Denver from El Segundo, Calif., in May 2009. In July 2010, DaVita shared plans for its new headquarters facility in downtown Denver near Denver Union Station. DaVita will invest $90 million to develop the 270,000-square-foot, 15-story building. Company officials say the new facility will initially house up to 450 employees, with capacity for up to 900 staff.
  • The new building, to be completed in 2012, will also serve as the site for DaVita University, where thousands of the firm’s staff will train annually

2011 Major Relocations and Expansions for GE

  • GE announced in October 2011 plans to build the nation’s largest solar panel manufacturing facility in Aurora. When completed, the advanced manufacturing facility will create 355 jobs in Colorado over the next three to five years.
  • Colorado already is 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. GE completed the acquisition of Colorado-based PrimeStar earlier this year.
  • GE leadership noted that locating in Colorado would allow the company to deliver technologies faster and commercialize industry-leading panel efficiencies sooner.

Arrow Electronics

  • Arrow Electronics, Inc. announced in October 2011 that its Colorado operations will become the company’s global headquarters, effective Nov. 15, 2011. Arrow Electronics, a Fortune 140 company, serves customers in 52 counties and had 2010 sales of $18.7 billion.
  • This will be the highest ranked Fortune 500 company to ever call Colorado home. Arrow Electronics is currently headquartered in Melville, N.Y., and has had a significant presence in Englewood, Colo., since 2000 currently 1,000 employees in the Denver area.
  • Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said the state has approved tax credits for Arrow of up to $11.4 million over five years if 1,250 jobs are created. With 12,700 employees worldwide, Arrow brings technology solutions to a breadth of markets, including telecommunications, information systems, transportation, medical, industrial and consumer electronics.
  • Arrow has 1,200 suppliers, and Hickenlooper said the state will try to persuade some to move their headquarters to Colorado or establish some other presence in the state.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies

  • Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. opened its expanded Aerospace Manufacturing Center in Westminster in July 2011. The $14.6 million expansion added 28,000 square feet to Ball’s existing 160,000 square feet for high-volume antenna manufacturing of the F-35 Lightning II military aircraft.
  • Ball will add 200 employees at the site by full production of its $677.2 million contract from Lockheed Martin to manufacture 48,000 F-35 antennas

Gordon Holdings, Inc

  • Gordon Holdings, Inc., parent company of Polystrand, Inc. and Gordon Composites, Inc., announced plans in June 2011 to move its corporate headquarters and expand its Montrose, Colo.-based Polystrand business to Douglas County.
  • Company officials made the move to accommodate growth and have access to Denver International Airport and rail. The company purchased 15.6 acres in the HighField Business Park for its new 120,000 headquarters and manufacturing facility where will create as many as 240 new jobs

CNA

  • CNA, one of the country’s largest commercial insurance providers, hosted a grand opening for its new 50,000-square-foot Western Service Center in Lone Tree in June 2011. CNA officials say they chose the region because of the quality of the workforce. CNA will employ 300 workers at the center.

TriZetto Group Inc.

  • TriZetto Group Inc., a Newport Beach, Calif., healthcare software company, announced in July 2010 that it will move its corporate headquarters to Greenwood Village. With technology solutions touching nearly half the U.S. insured population today, TriZetto employs 1,900 people at 11 offices throughout the United States.

Vestas Technology R&D Americas

  • Vestas Technology R&D Americas, Inc. leased 47,675 square feet in the Centennial Valley in Louisville in July 2010 for a new engineering and product development division. Vestas spokespeople say the company will employ 75 to 125 new employees at the site in the first year of operation. The division will work to improve technology for existing turbines and develop the wind power systems of the future.

The Children’s Hospital

  • The Children’s Hospital launched a $228 million, 350,000-square-foot expansion project in July 2010 to add 124 beds to its existing facility in Aurora. Hospital officials anticipate adding 500 new jobs as a result of the expansion.

Abound Solar

  • Abound Solar announced it will add 300 jobs as part of a $400 million stimulus-funded loan guarantee it received in July 2010 to increase production of its thin-film photovoltaic modules at its existing manufacturing plant in Longmont.