State of Colorado T3 Advisors Request for Information
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
State of Colorado Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade T3 Advisors Request for Information July 22, 2016 Governor’s Office of Economic Development & International Trade | July 22, 2016 Page 1 Table of Contents Colorado Team ........................................................................................... 3 Colorado: A Destination for Company Relocations & Expansions ................ 4 Coastal Companies Expanding in Colorado ..........................................................................5 Recent Company Relocations and Expansions ......................................................................8 Building Place: Talent | Housing | Transportation....................................... 9 The Presence of Tech Talent in Metro Denver ......................................................................10 A Workforce Gold Rush .........................................................................................................10 Millennial Magnet ................................................................................................................12 Higher Education in Colorado ...............................................................................................13 Training Tech Talent in Colorado ...........................................................................................13 Housing in Metro Denver .......................................................................................................14 Transportation .......................................................................................................................15 Denver International Airport .................................................................................................15 RTD Light Rail .........................................................................................................................16 Colorado’s Performance-Based Incentives & Next Steps ............................. 17 Incentive Analysis ..................................................................................................................18 Colorado’s Performance-Based Incentives ............................................................................19 Approval of State Incentives ..................................................................................................21 Next Steps with State Incentives ............................................................................................22 Local Incentives ......................................................................................................................23 Governor’s Office of Economic Development & International Trade | July 22, 2016 Page 2 Colorado Team Below lists contact information for the project team which will grow to include incentive experts, local economic development contacts, elected officials, etc. as the project expands. Organization Name Title Phone / E-Mail Colorado Office of Economic Senior Manager, Global 303.892.3725 Sam Bailey Development & Business Development [email protected] International Trade Colorado Office of Economic Laura Senior Manager, Strategy 303.892.3859 Development & Blomquist & Analytics [email protected] International Trade Governor’s Office of Economic Development & International Trade | July 22, 2016 Page 3 Colorado: A Destination for Company Relocations & Expansions Governor’s Office of Economic Development & International Trade | July 22, 2016 Page 4 Coastal Companies Expanding in Colorado Colorado has become a magnet for companies looking to relocate or expand their operations from Silicon Valley and New York City. Colorado offers a cost-competitive market equipped with the nation’s second most educated workforce. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) has taken proactive steps to ensure companies considering Colorado has a transparent and efficient transition into the state’s business ecosystem. The following case studies highlight several coastal companies that have made major expansions in Colorado with the focus on hiring a highly-skilled workforce: Gusto (Formerly ZenPayroll) Headquarters: San Francisco, CA Colorado Location: Denver, CO Locations Considered: Denver, CO | Salt Lake City, UT | Austin, TX Gusto evaluated several locations for the expansion of over 1,000 employees to grow their central operations. Gusto identified Denver, Colorado for its growing and talented Millennial workforce, investments in downtown Denver, and available recreational opportunities for their millennial workforce. Gusto selected Denver, Colorado and was approved for a $18 million dollar Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit for the creation over 1,750 jobs. Press Coverage: Fortune Magazine & DenverPost FiveStars Headquarters: San Francisco, CA Colorado Location: Denver, CO Locations Considered: Denver, CO | Phoenix, AZ | Austin, TX FiveStars was visited by the OEDIT in February 2015 to discuss the expansion of a jobs opportunity in Denver. FiveStars was planning to double its staff and needed to dip into a new talent pool. Denver was one of three cities considered for this new operation. A month later, FiveStars was approved for a $3.6 million dollar Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit for the creation of 242 jobs. The company formerly announced their selection of Denver in April 2015. Press Coverage: DenverPost Governor’s Office of Economic Development & International Trade | July 22, 2016 Page 5 On Deck Headquarters: New York City, NY Colorado Location: Denver, CO Locations Considered: On Deck is no stranger to Denver. In November 2012, On Deck opened its first presence outside of New York in Denver by creating an operational sales center for 200 jobs. The company identified Denver for its millennial workforce and growth of the financial services industry. With the success of its first Denver office, the company identified further opportunity to expand by 400 employees and was approved for a $10.1 million dollar Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit to expand again in August 2015. Today, the company has over 300 employees in Denver and is on track to employ 600 employees in 2018. Press Coverage: DenverPost Brooklyn Boulders – Headquarters Relocation Headquarters: Denver, CO as of March 2016 Locations Considered: Denver, CO | Salt Lake City, UT Lance Pinn, Co-Founder of Brooklyn Boulders (BKB), sat down for coffee in Denver with OEDIT in August 2015. The company was ready to move the headquarters out of New York and identify a market that balanced work and lifestyle. After conducting real estate searches for the company, OEDIT identified viable properties for BKB in the RiNo neighborhood that fir the company’s needs. The company was approved for a $556,346 Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit to support the creation of 33 new jobs in Colorado. Today, the company’s leadership skis in Vail and is finalizing the architectural plans for their new headquarters. ZingFit – Headquarters Relocation Headquarters: Boulder, CO as of May 2016 Locations Considered: Boulder, CO | Charlotte, NC | Dallas, TX Based in East Hampton, NY, ZingFit looked West to identify a community that could support aggressive growth within information technology’s intersection with the fitness industry. Having visited Boulder, the company’s founder, John Bogosian, had found that he could easily relocate the company and hire skilled talent to support the company’s 80% year-over-year growth. Press Coverage: BizWest Governor’s Office of Economic Development & International Trade | July 22, 2016 Page 6 Sunrun Headquarters: San Francisco, CA Colorado Location: Denver, CO Locations Considered: Denver, CO | Phoenix, AZ Having just met with FiveStars, OEDIT headed over to Sunrun as the company was considering a major jobs creation project of 800 employees outside of San Francisco. Denver, Colorado was competing with rival Phoenix, Arizona. The company identified Arizona and Colorado for being solar-friendly, possessing a lower cost of labor as compared to California, and developing policies that provide solar companies the ability to loop into utility companies. After two months of evaluation, Colorado saw a major policy shift in the Public Utilities Commission making the Rocky Mountain State the place for Sunrun. On December 11, 2015 company joined Governor Hickenlooper and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock to welcome the company’s CEO, Lynn Jurich, and the growth of 800 new jobs. Press Coverage: DenverPost Partners Group – Headquarters Relocation Headquarters: Formerly NY & CA, now Broomfield, CO Locations Considered: Broomfield, CO | Charlotte, NC | Phoenix, AZ | Atlanta, GA Partners Group, a global private markets investment manager, selected Broomfield, Colorado for the relocation of its corporate headquarters. Colorado was identified for a growing network of young, high-skilled financial services workers. The company is relocating employees from California and New York to support the company’s North American headquarters operations. The company received a $4.3 million dollar Job Growth Incentive tax Credit for the creation of 150 net new full-time jobs, however the company now projects their job growth to surpass 400 employees in Colorado. Press Coverage: DenverPost General Assembly Headquarters: New York, NY Colorado Location: Denver, CO Locations Considered: Denver, CO | Dallas, TX | Minneapolis, MN New York-based General Assembly (GA) did not need much time to identify where its next campus had to be. With the growing startup community, GA saw