Economic Development 101: How Site Selection and Business Attraction Work in the Front Range

At its core, business attraction is about landing primary jobs, defined as the jobs that support companies that export or sell goods and services outside the region. These jobs inject new dollars into Colorado’s economy, spin off supplier demand, drive a sustainable tax base for local and state governments, and support local-serving businesses from housing to retail to hospitality. That multiplier effect is why Metro Denver EDC centers its work on attracting and growing primary employers across the Front Range. 

Great projects gravitate to places where certainty and speed can mitigate risk, and that certainty and speed is reinforced by trust and coordination. Through the Front Range Economic Collaborative (FREC), Metro Denver EDC convenes representation of over 120 local communities including the Colorado Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), cities, towns, and districts across 12 Front Range counties to deliver one, timely response to client and site selector requests. Instead of a company chasing answers jurisdiction by jurisdiction, the region presents a unified, apples-to-apples comparative package: qualified sites, incentives parameters, workforce snapshots, infrastructure details, and realistic timelines. This regionalism reduces friction for companies and ensures every community—large or small—has a fair shot when their strengths align with a project’s needs. 

Qualifying Real Estate for Projects and Investment
A credible proposal starts with project-ready real estate. Metro Denver EDC works with public and private partners to qualify locations against the factors that matter most. These factors include non-negotiables based on critical functions of the employer such as real estate size and location, cost considerations around workforce and regulation, and tangible considerations like business friendliness. Some common considerations in the site location process include: 

• Land or building functionality: available acreage/square footage, building and clear heights, dock and bay doors, road access, soil conditions, stormwater drainage, remediation/brownfield requirements.
• Land use and entitlement: zoning compatibility, by-right uses, permitting pathways, environmental due diligence, and community engagement considerations.
• Utilities and capacity: electric service, gas service, renewable power and heating options, water/wastewater, broadband, redundancy and reliability.
• Talent availability: size and skills of the labor shed, pipelines from universities and training providers, wage benchmarks, and hiring timelines.
• Transportation infrastructure: Air cargo and passenger connectivity, interstate access, last-mile circulation, rail service, and workforce commuting options.
• Cost: Land and building prices, lease rates, market wages, regulatory compliance, utility rates.
• Risk: State and local incentive availability, unionization and labor relations, local and geopolitical stability, grid and water infrastructure resiliency, project certainty.
• Speed to Market: “Shovel-readiness,” site control, infrastructure phasing, total project timeline.
• Regional Ecosystem Assets: Supply chain, proximity to customers, access to laboratories, innovation centers and R&D facilities.
• Quality of Life: Residential real estate affordability and availability, arts, culture and entertainment amenities, outdoor recreation opportunities, and healthcare. 

By pre-vetting these elements, the region shortens decision cycles and de-risks investment for clients. 

A Tip of the Spear
In addition to managing inbound projects and RFIs from companies and consultants, Metro Denver EDC invests strategically into proactive recruitment of expanding and relocating companies. Globally, Metro Denver EDC supports OEDIT with international recruitment missions focused on building international business relationships and awareness of Colorado as an investment destination. Domestically, we spearhead recruitment trips to meet with CEOs and decision makers of companies we know our region can compete for. These trips include a curated delegation of state and local experts, including Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce members that can bring specific industry and service insights, including real estate, development, construction and utilities. 

The Role of Site Selectors
Site selectors are trusted advisors who translate a company’s operating requirements into a short list of viable locations. They pressure-test and validate market data, including talent availability, costs, and risk, and compare communities against the client’s strategy, whether that’s speed to market, cost optimization, sustainability, or proximity to customers and suppliers. Metro Denver EDC views site selectors as long-term partners, supplying accurate data, transparent answers, and direct access to boots-on-the-ground experts through its highly coordinated regional network. 

Relationships that Pay Off: The Annual Metro Denver Site Selection Conference
Relationships don’t begin with a project’s RFI; they form much, even years, earlier. Metro Denver EDC builds those ties through targeted outreach, including hosting one of the nation’s most prolific regional Site Selection Conferences. The conference spotlights the Front Range’s economic development ecosystem and collaborative spirit. It also showcases our region’s competitive strengths and assets: top research universities and federal laboratories, headquarters and major employers across diverse industries, an interconnected regional transportation network, a deep and specialized talent base, and a quality of life that helps companies recruit and retain employees. 

The Bottom Line
Business attraction is a team sport. With a regional playbook, project-ready sites, strong relationships with corporate leaders and site selectors, and a clear focus on primary jobs, Metro Denver EDC helps companies choose Colorado—and helps communities across the Front Range convert opportunities into enduring prosperity.