Colorado Real Estate Journal -

Boulder County Economic Development Update

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Boulder County is located within easy driving distance from downtown Denver and DIA and offers the geographic diversity of urban, suburban, and rural settings. The county has one of the nation’s most highly educated populations, world class research facilities, a very high concentration of businesses in advanced technology and emerging industries, and a business climate that supports innovation and growth.

The University of Colorado Boulder, one of the nation’s premier public research universities and a leader in moving new technologies into the marketplace, is located in Boulder County. The area is also home to more than a dozen federally funded research laboratories including the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Major industries in the area include aerospace, bioscience, information technology, manufacturing, natural and organic products, outdoor recreation, professional services, and renewable energy.

The area is rich in business resources, and Boulder was recently named “America’s Best Town for Startups” by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Real Estate

• Goff Capital Partners acquired 19 properties in Flatiron Park in December 2011. The $67.8 million investment gives the company ownership of more than 740,000 square feet of leasable office, flex, and warehouse space in the Boulder business park.

• Planning for the 1st and Main Redevelopment Project in downtown Longmont is underway. The project will include 27 acres of the former Butterball property, the terminus for RTD’s commuter rail project and the recently relocated Cheese Importers site.

• The Daily Camera Building, a landmark and prime site on downtown Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, is being redeveloped by Karlin Real Estate, a Los Angeles-based real estate development and investment firm.

• The 238-unit Residences at Twenty Ninth Street in Boulder was completed in fall 2011.

• Steel Ranch, a new residential subdivision in Louisville, started construction on the first of 151 single-family homes to be built in the development.

• The world-class Boulder Valley Velodrome in Erie is scheduled to open in summer 2012.

• Three major new projects were recently completed on the University of Colorado Boulder campus: the Center for Community, Institute of Behavioral Science, and Visual Arts Complex. The new 330,000- sf biotechnology building that will house the university’s BioFrontiers Institute is scheduled to open in early 2012.

Business Growth

• Array BioPharma announced an agreement with Genetech worth up to $685 million to develop and commercialize innovative new cancer therapy.

• Ball Aerospace will be opening a $25 million, 70,000- sf expansion of its Fisher Integration Facility to accommodate additional production of satellites and other spacecraft.

• Boulder Community Hospital broke ground on the 46,000-sf Anderson Medical Center outpatient services facility, part of the $125 million expansion of the hospital’s Foothills campus.

• Covidien, one of Boulder County’s largest private employers, opened a $18 million, 63,000-sf research and development facility on its 26-acre Boulder campus in March 2012.

• Clovis Oncology completed a $129.4 million initial public offering, which will support new product development for the anti-cancer biopharmaceutical company.

• GE Energy is expanding its operations in Longmont by adding up to 20 new employees and 26,000 square feet at its existing facility.

• Google completed an expansion of its Boulder office, renovating a 34,000-sf building that had been occupied by an electronics retailer.

• Juwi Wind, the wind energy development subsidiary of the German-based juwi Group, expanded and relocated its North American headquarters in Boulder.

• LogRhythm, a market leader in cyber threat defense, expanded into a new 39,000-sf office.

• Micron Technology is opening a new engineering and design center in Longmont, adding up to 100 new employees to its existing base of 130 in Longmont.

• Miragen Therapeutics signed a deal potentially worth up to $1 billion with Les Laboratoires Servier to continue collaboration on the research, development, and commercialization of treatments for cardiovascular and muscle diseases.

• Mountainside Medical opened a second manufacturing site in Louisville.

• National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) received funding from the National Science Foundation for the $434 million construction of the lab’s nationwide network of observatories.

• Boulder was selected to be the new home for the National Solar Observatory, which is expected to employ 70 scientists and other staff and have an annual payroll of $20 million.

• NewMark Merrill Mountain States has purchased Longmont’s Twin Peaks Mall and is in the process of developing plans for its redevelopment.

• OnCore Manufacturing finished a new 58,800-sf facility in Longmont.

• SolidFire, a cloud computing company, relocated its headquarters to Boulder from Atlanta, and has raised over $35 million in venture capital funding.

• SpectraLogic, a manufacturer of data storage devices, purchased a 55,000-sf building next to its headquarters in Boulder.

• Sundrop Fuels, an advanced biofuels company, moved its corporate headquarters to Longmont.

• Symplified, a Boulder company that develops a cloud based computer security platform, raised $38.8 million from venture capitalists.

• TechStars Boulder, a mentorship-driven seed stage investment program, was named top startup accelerator/incubator in the U.S. TechStars co-founder David Cohen formed a new $28 million venture capital fund, Bullet Time Ventures II to invest in Internet software startups.

• Tendril Networks, a rapidly growing company developing smart-grid technology, leased nearly 52,000-sf for its new headquarters in Boulder.

• Trader Joe’s announced plans to open its first Colorado retail store in the Twenty Ninth Street Shopping District in Boulder.

• Whole Foods completed the expansion and remodel of its store in Boulder, increasing its size to 79,000 sf and making it the company’s largest store in Colorado.

Quality of Life

Boulder County’s proximity to the mountains, progressive open space program, and many cultural amenities contribute to an award-winning quality of life.

• Boulder County includes nearly 94,000 acres of open space, including more than 35,000 acres in mountain parks.

There are hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails in the county, including more than 300 miles of dedicated bikeways in Boulder.

• Louisville once again tops the list of the "Best Place to Live" in the nation by Money magazine.

• Boulder County hosts a number of high-profile sporting events, including the prestigious Bolder Boulder 10k Race and Superior Morgul Classic professional bike race. In 2012, Boulder will host a stage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

• Boulder ranked No. 5 for well-being and No. 1 “Skinniest City in America” in the 2012 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, and the No. 1 Happiest and Healthiest City in America in 2011. The city was recently named "America's Most Active City" by Time and one of the nation’s “10 Great College Towns” by US News & World Report.

• Boulder County is widely recognized for its arts and culture. Boulder is frequently named as one of the best cities for art in the nation, the Longmont Arts & Entertainment District was recently chosen as a prospective Creative District under the new Colorado Creative Industries Legislation, and the City of Lafayette earned a 2012 Governor’s Arts Award.