Colorado Real Estate Journal - April 5, 2017
Swisslog Healthcare Solutions is preparing to move its North American headquarters from Denver to Broomfield. The company reportedly is working with United Properties to develop an approximately 56,000-square-foot building at Interpark, located at West 112th Avenue and Main Street. It hopes to double in size over the next five years. Part of global robotics company KUKA, Swisslog Healthcare Solutions focuses on logistics automation for hospitals and medical facilities – pneumatic tube systems, and systems for storing and retrieving medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, for instance. Traditionally a hardware company, it is shifting more into software, according to Roger Horton, vice president of technology. Horton, who spoke at a recent NAIOP Colorado breakfast meeting highlighting the U.S. Highway 36 corridor, said flexibility to grow, and attracting and retaining tech talent were big drivers behind the anticipated relocation. “Attracting talent in a 50-year-old building in the old Stapleton has been very difficult. We knew we needed to relocate,” he said, adding retention already has improved since employees learned of the pending move. The company considered other locations in the metro area and favored Broomfield based on commuting options for employees, proximity to universities and easy access to Denver International Airport. It would have preferred to be on light rail; however, land prices at transit-oriented development sites are higher than what Swisslog was willing to commit to, he said. The Broomfield location is a half-mile from bus/bus rapid transit for employees wanting to use public transportation.