Metro Denver EDC celebrates investor efforts
The Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (Metro Denver EDC) honored the "superheroes" of the business community - including its investors, economic development partners, and organizations working to expand Metro Denver's economy - at the Annual Report to Investors and Awards Luncheon on June 4, 2008. The luncheon took place at the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center.
The event highlighted Metro Denver's major economic accomplishments over the past five years, which included significant support of the FasTracks and Referendum C&D campaigns, industry development and company expansions such as the United Launch Alliance and Vestas Wind Systems, and promoting the region through national and international marketing efforts.
In 2004, the Metro Denver EDC began an aggressive five-year plan called Breakthrough Denver! to restore economic vitality and to brand Metro Denver as a vital and sustainable hub for the new economy - with a goal of creating 100,000 new jobs. The Metro Denver EDC announced that it has surpassed that target, with 125,700 new jobs created in the region to date.
"Despite the region's many economic successes over the past five years, at no time in Metro Denver's history has there been more at stake when it comes to our economic future," explained Chuck Ward, president of Qwest-Colorado and co-chair of the Metro Denver EDC's executive committee.
Ward called for more business and civic leaders to join the Metro Denver EDC in its far-reaching efforts. "During the rest of this summer we will complete our second capital campaign to continue what we started, to transform this great town into a world class city. We're asking more companies to join us. We're working to grow our table of leadership," he said.
The Metro Denver EDC's successful initiatives would not have been possible without the energy and support of investors and community leaders. The Metro Denver EDC presented three awards at the luncheon for outstanding contributions to the region's economy:
The Deal of the Year Award, recognizing a company that has created the largest economic impact to the region through new job creation and capital investment, was awarded to ConocoPhillips. The Metro Denver EDC lauded the company for its decision to establish a new Global Technology and Corporate Learning Center at the former Storage Technology campus in Louisville.
ConocoPhillips, the country's third-largest integrated energy company and number five on Fortune magazine's top 500 companies list, purchased the 432-acre site for $55.6 million. The company will raze and rebuild the campus to make way for a global technology center that will be the hub for its research and development in making liquid fuels from renewable sources. ConocoPhillips will also create a worldwide learning center at the site where it will bring thousands of employees each year to train on new energy technology applications. The new campus will be operational by 2012.
"Louisville is the perfect home for ConocoPhillips' Global Technology and Corporate Learning Centers because it offers so many benefits that compliment where our worldwide energy company is now and will be in the future," stated Mary Manning, ConocoPhillips' general manager of Global Real Estate and Facilities Services. "This award signifies the valuable relationship that we are building with the people and the communities of Colorado."
The Metropolitan Cooperation Award recognizes the ability to overlook political boundaries in order to further the region's economic development potential. This year's award was presented to John Beeble of Saunders Construction; Joseph Bertsch of EKS&H; and Mary Rose Loney of the Loney Group for their efforts to create the DIA Leadership (DIAL) Committee following the consolidation of the former DIA Partnership into the Metro Denver EDC.
"The DIAL Committee brings a united focus on aviation expansion and promotion to the region," explained John Shaw, senior vice president and general manager of OPUS Northwest and co-chair of the Metro Denver EDC's executive Committee. "Our honorees knew that united efforts to promote DIA as a regional asset are in our region's best interest and we commend their efforts."
A similar spirit of cooperation led to the creation of the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory, winner of the Chairs' Award for Outstanding Efforts in Economic Development. The Collaboratory is a research partnership working to increase production and use of energy from renewable resources like wind energy, solar energy, and biofuels.
The award was presented to each of the founders of the Collaboratory - the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, and the University of Colorado-Boulder.
"Nowhere in the world has an asset such as this unique research partnership. Instead of marketing their individual programs and research, the four founding members present themselves to the world as one single entity through which sponsored research, public-private partnerships, and technical consultation are available," said Kittie Hook, senior vice president for corporate services for Fuller Real Estate and Chair of the Metro Denver EDC's board of governors.