Colorado Real Estate Journal -

Jefferson County Continues to Grow

Leigh Seeger Economic Development Manager, Jefferson County Economic Development Corp.

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Jefferson County, located just west of Denver, offers adversified geographic setting that includes urban and rural lifestyles, as well as thriving Rocky Mountain communities. Just minutes away from downtown Denver, Jefferson County enjoys easy access to all major arterial highways.

Jefferson County’s municipal boundaries include the cities and towns of Arvada, Bow Mar, Edgewater, Golden, Lakeside, Lakewood, Mountain View, and Wheat Ridge, as well as portions of the cities of Superior and Westminster. The County also reaches into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where the communities of Conifer, Evergreen, Genesee, and Morrison are located.

Jefferson County provides businesses with a highly educated workforce. The County’s K-12 Schools are nationally recognized for excellence. Residents and businesses also have access to higher education institutions such as the Colorado School of Mines, Colorado Christian University, and the Rocky Mountain College or Art and Design, as well as community colleges including Arapahoe, Front Range, and Red Rocks. Companies in Jefferson County enjoy a pro-business tax climate that is one of the lowest in the U.S. With a friendly business environment and an unmatched quality of life, Jefferson County is a premier business location.

Business Growth

• Ball Aerospace & Technologies completed a $14.6 million expansion of its Aerospace Manufacturing Center in Westminster for increased antenna manufacturing for the F-35 Lightning II military aircraft.

The production workforce will increase to 200 employees.

• The Coleman Company, a leading manufacturer of outdoor equipment, opened a new leadership office in Denver West. The move to the 36,000-square-foot facility brings 70 jobs to Jefferson County.

• EMP, a component manufacturer for high-tech companies, is expanding and moving to a 43,000-sf building in the Lakewood Industrial Park. The move brings $6.1 million in new investment and 100 employees to the area.

• Environmental Resource Associates recently expanded into a new 66,000-sf facility in the Coors Technology Center in Golden. The company plans to grow to 85 employees and spend over $8 million in capital investment.

• Lockheed Martin built a $70 million processing facility as part of its $238 million GPS III contract with the U.S. Air Force. GPS III is the next-generation Global Positioning System program for civilian and military use.

• The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is building a state-of-the-art laboratory with environmentally friendly research buildings.

NREL recently finished construction on the $64 million 218,000- sf Research Support Facility.

Currently under construction is the new $135 million Energy Systems Integration Facility. This 182,000-sf facility will house 200 scientists and engineers. In addition, the lab is building a hightech garage to showcase strategies for reducing energy.

• SourceGas LLC relocated its corporate headquarters to a 53,000-sf facility in Golden. The natural gas distributor will have approximately 200 employees working by the end of 2012.

• Total Renal Research, a division of DaVita, announced it is opening a 35,000-sf clinical research facility at the St.

Anthony Hospital campus in Lakewood. The 80-bed facility is expected to create more than 50 specialized research jobs.

• Trimble Navigation is expanding into a 125,000-sf office building at the Westmoor Technology Park in Westminster.

The new building will be able to accommodate up to 550 employees.

Projects Under Way in Jefferson County

• Candelas, located along Highway 93 and Highway 72 in Arvada, is a 1,451-acre masterplanned community. At full-build out, the project will produce more than 4,500 housing units and 7.1 million sf of commercial, industrial and office space.

• The Denver Federal Center, located Lakewood, has created a new master site plan for their campus. The 20-year vision and redevelopment plan includes a mix of districts with land uses including federal activities, research and development, office, retail and community/ civic.

• Mountain Plains Industrial Center is located northeast of Highway 72 and Highway 93.

This 131-acre property is zoned heavy industrial and has one-mile of Union Pacific railroad frontage on the eastern property line.

• The Verve Innovation Park, located on the southeast side of the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, has 573 acres available for development.

The site is zoned mixed-use to include commercial, office, light industrial and aviation.

• Rooney Valley is a 1,300-acre area along C-470 that includes property in Jefferson County, the City of Lakewood and the Town of Morrison. A joint-master plan includes plans for office, commercial, residential, mixed-use commercial and open space.

• Cities in Jefferson County are poised for transit-orientated projects along FasTracks’ West Corridor and Gold Line. The Gold Line, opening in 2016, is an 11.2-mile line connecting Denver’s Union Station to Wheat Ridge, passing through portions of Arvada. The West Corridor, opening in the summer of 2013, will be a 12.1-mile line connecting Denver’s Union Station to the Jefferson County Government Center.

• The City of Westminster is in the early stages of the 100-acre redevelopment of the former Westminster Mall. The new Westminster Center will be a high-density, transit-orientated, mixed-use development providing over one million square feet of office, retail, and residential space.