The Denver Office of Economic Development (OED) has released its annual report outlining strong gains that include the creation of 4,164 new jobs, the successful retention of 3,076 jobs, and the creation of 628 affordable housing units.
Photo – denvergov.org
As per the OED report, Denver economic development incentive programs, tax credits, loans, and training assistance programs helped 89 firms expand in the city, resulting in more than $304 million of capital investments.
Mayor Michael B. Hancock said in a statement that Denver’s hard-working employers, employees and entrepreneurs enjoyed a year of recording-breaking progress on many economic fronts. “Their tenacity, coupled with the city’s efforts to sustain and grow a next-generation economy built on Denver’s traditional strengths, has simultaneously attracted new ventures, new industries, and thousands of new residents,” said Mayor Hancock.
One of the two key themes the report highlights in local economic development this year involves new ways to apply technology to maximize the impact of OED’s efforts and initiatives. For example, OED began using an interactive online tool (www.oppsites.com) that blends both mapping and promotional data to showcase sites with developers, businesses, and retailers all over the country.
Similarly, OED launched the Denver Manufacturing Map Tool, an online GIS mapping system that details all manufacturing operations and related support systems within the city. Among its many uses, the tool helps manufacturers identify suppliers, transportation providers, warehousing opportunities, and potential expansion sites.
The second theme the report highlights is OED’s success in building Denver’s presence as a trade partner internationally, such as assistance provided to the Denver Beer Company, which is now selling beer in Japan.
Working in partnership with Denver International Airport and state and regional partners, OED focused on increasing Denver’s profile in key world markets. These efforts included trade missions to businesses in global opportunity markets (Asia), hosting an investment forum/exchange in Japan, and the launch of the Mayor’s International Advisory Council, with the goal to make Denver a more internationally competitive and welcoming city.
The annual report also highlights key JumpStart 2015 accomplishments, as well as other signature wins gained by the OED last year. JumpStart 2015 was the OED’s Denver economic development plan built on seven pillars – business recruitment, business retention, small business advocacy, housing development, neighborhood development, strategic lending, and workforce development.
Major firms assisted by OED in 2015 include United Airlines, Gusto, Comcast, FiveStars, KPMG, DaVita, Costco, Sunrun, Optiv and Transamerica.
One of OED’s biggest successes last year was United Airlines’ selection of Denver as the location for its consolidated flight training center. The expansion will bring approximately 250 additional high-paying jobs, plus more than $40 million in upgrades to the Stapleton facilities, which in turn will catapult development of the nearby Central Park Station transit-oriented development. OED supported the expansion through the Business Incentive Fund.
OED Executive Director Paul Washington noted that “We’ve had an exciting run of new jobs from both startups and corporate locations, and at the same time posted major gains in the Mayor’s ambitious 3×5 plan for affordable housing.”
Read the full Denver Office of Economic Development Annual Report – Download (pdf)
