Adams County At A Glance

The Adams County Advantage: Projects and Projections
Adams County will be the fastest growing county in Colorado for the next 20 years according to forecasts by the Denver Regional Council of Governments.  Almost half the employment growth will be in Adams County and the City and County of Denver.  Statewide, Colorado is benefiting from five projects with budgets that exceed one billion dollars each.  Four of these projects impact Adams County – Denver International Airport, the E-470 beltway, Fitzsimons, and FasTracks.  These projects and projected growth ensure prosperity for Adams County businesses and residents for years to come.  This is the Adams County advantage!

Metro Denver’s Newest Frontier
Adams County has more land available for development than any other in the seven county metro area – and the land rush is on!  While rapid residential, commercial and industrial development is transforming the landscape, Adams County has worked to preserve its historically rural identity by designating the most Open Space of any metro area county.

Fitzsimons Reborn
Adams County is home to Fitzsimons, a national model for the redevelopment of a decommissioned base into a premiere 21st century life sciences city, including the first university-affiliated "biopark" to be developed west of the Mississippi.  Fitzsimons quickly is becoming a world-class academic, clinical care and scientific research campus.

Hub of the Front Range

• Adams County is the transportation hub of the Front Rangewith anenviable infrastructure of roads, railways and airports.
• Road – Interstates 25, 70, 76, 225 and 270; E-470 andtheNorthwest Parkway toll roads; and major highways 2, 36, 85 and 287 all converge in Adams County, making for easy movement of goods, services and employees.
• Rail – The Union Pacific Railroad and the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway serve the County.  Upon completion of FasTracks, Adams County residents will enjoy commuter rail service to destinations throughout the metro area.
• Airports – Adams County surrounds Denver lnternational Airport, the largest, most sophisticated and fifth busiest airport in the nation, and the tenth busiest in the world.  Front Range Airport, just six miles from DIA, offers businesses the alternative of a full-service regional airport with the tallest general aviation air traffic control tower in North America and complete inter-modal transportation development opportunities.

Import/Export Opportunities

• International Trade Corridors – Colorado’s largest international and domestic trading partners are located along the federally-designated Ports to Plains Trade Corridor that stretches to Mexico and the Heartland and Theodore Roosevelt Expressways reaching to Canada.  Adams County offers a strategic logistics location practically equidistant from both borders.
• Denver International Airport – Direct and one-stop international flights give you convenient access to foreign markets, suppliers, customers and offices.

Communication

• In Person - Strategically located on the 105th Meridian, halfway between Munich and Tokyo, you can reach Europe, South America and the Pacific Rim in the same business day.
• Via Satellite - Likewise, this is the only region of the United States which allows single bounce satellite transmission to all of these areas of the world.

Professional Business Climate
Attracting and retaining good businesses and jobs are a top priority in Adams County. 

Workforce Advantages

• Highly Educated – The metro area has the nation’s second most educated workforce.
• Diversity – Adams County’s diverse labor pool supports an equally diverse range of business including life and biosciences; aviation; technology development; logistics, warehousing and distribution; transportation; heavy industry and light manufacturing.
• Quality and Quantity – The predicted growth of the County well into the next decade assures the quality and size of our workforce and a continued influx of new employees.
• Adams County Education Consortium – An unprecedented coalition between local business, school districts, post-secondary education institutions, and social and human services agencies, ACEC will create more opportunities to prepare local students, youth and adult alike, for Colorado’s highly skilled and high tech jobs.

Adams County is located at the northeastern quadrant of the Denver metropolitan area and covers 1,182 square miles of land.  It includes the cities of Arvada, Aurora, Bennett, Brighton, Commerce City, Federal Heights, Northglenn, Thornton, Westminster, and a substantial unincorporated area.

Taking advantage of its strategic location, pro business climate and skilled workforce are companies like Coors Distributing Company, FedEx, General Motors, Hunter Douglas.

Business Activity
Adams County has seen tremendous growth and development with companies making substantial investments and expansions including:

• Avanquest Software, formerly BVRP Software, located in Westminster, develops and publishes communications, productivity and utilities software, is expanding into Asia with the launch of new business units in China and Korea and a strengthening of its Shanghai research and development center.
• Aviation Technology Group (ATG) selected Front Range Airport in Adams County, Colorado, for its manufacturing and flight test facilities. ATG is the innovator and builder of a high speed, high performing, military looking jet called the Javelin.  ATG will lease 56,000 square feet at Front Range Airport. When production reaches full capacity for these facilities, ATG expects to have hired up to 150 employees.
• Centura St. Anthony Hospital North in Westminster is planning a $6 million expansion of their emergency room facilities. Future improvements will also include additional medical/wellness office space surrounding the hospital.
• Corporate Express, Inc. is one of the world’s largest business-to-business suppliers of essential office and computer products and services.   The company has leased 65,000 square feet of office space in Northglenn and will add 400 new employees at the facility.
• Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer purchased 44 acres of land and built a 150,000 square feet distribution facility at 96th Avenue Industrial Park in Commerce City. The company invested $6 million in the land and facility and adds 40 new jobs to Adams County.
• Kroger, one of the nation's largest grocery retailers, consolidated into a 615,000 square foot facility on Aurora.  The company invested over $50 million in capital and retained 185 jobs.
• United Power a customer-owned electric utility purchased 40 acres of land to construct its new 94,000 square feet corporate headquarters in the Brighton.  
• Wanco, Inc. a firm specializing in the manufacturing of highway safety and traffic control products is expanding its facility in Arvada. The expansion will increase Wanco’s manufacturing space by 60,000 square feet and will give the company a total of 137,000 square feet of state-of-the-art manufacturing capacity.

New Business Park Developments

Adams County has over 35 major business parks ranging from 100 to 6,300 acres to accommodate current and future business expansions and relocations to the area:

• Adams Crossing is a 685-acre mixed use park located in the Brighton.  Adams County Government has plans to build a 450,000 square foot campus that will consolidate county operations and house over 1,200 employees. 
• North I-25 Corridor Development Area is a land use plan developed by the cities of Thornton and Westminster that covers over 2,000 acres of land located on the east and west portions of I-25 from 128th Avenue to 152nd Avenue.  The development plan included high-end office and industrial development, as well as retail and residential.
• Prairie Gateway is a 917-acre mixed-use development in Commerce City.  It will house the professional soccer stadium for the Colorado Rapids, approximately 1.5 million square feet of commercial mixed use, a new Civic Center, and a new Visitors Center for the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge.
• TransPort, a Schuck Corporation development, is a 6,300-acre multi modal industrial park surrounding Front Range Airport in Aurora.  Designated as the newest Enterprise Zone in the Colorado, various tax credits to companies relocating to the business park. 

Life Sciences City in Adams County

Adams County is home to the new ‘Life Sciences City’ located on the 587-acre former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center.  The $4.3 billion project will transform Fitzsimons into a major education and research hub. The University of Colorado at Denver Health Sciences Center and the University of Colorado hospital have begun to relocate their entire operations to Fitzsimons. Children’s Hospital purchased 36-acres and is building a new $400 million 900,000 square foot inpatient hospital to Fitzsimons.

New Developments at Fitzsimons
For the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center:

• Research Complex I: The 390,160 square foot, $210.6 million complex constitutes the first comprehensive research presence for UCDHSC at the Fitzsimons campus. Included in the Research Complex I facilities are wet and dry research laboratories, core laboratories, lab support space, researcher and program offices, conference rooms, a central vivarium, auditoria, and building support space.
• Lazarra Center for Oral-Facial Health: The 60,000 square foot, $26.5 million building houses the CU School of Dentistry, including its clinical facilities. Clinical functions include general dentistry, endodontics, orthodontics, periodontics, surgery, radiology, and specialized areas for pediatric care, geriatric care, and special needs care.
• Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes: The Barbara Davis Center is the largest diabetes and endocrine care research and training program in the Colorado community.  The total cost for the completed project is $32.8 million.

For the University of Colorado Hospital:

• Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation: The 50,000 square foot, $14 million CeDAR facility is a 50-bed, residential evaluation and treatment center for adults afflicted with chronic substance dependency and addiction.
• Fitzsimons also includes the Colorado Bioscience Park Aurora, the 160-acre, university-affiliated research park. The park offers incubator office and laboratory space for bioscience start-ups. 

Education
The Denver metro area has the third highest educated workforce in the country. Many top ranked research schools are located in or within 30 minutes of Adams County including the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, University of Denver, Regis University, DeVry University and Colorado Technical University. The state’s largest community college, Front Range Community College, is located in Adams County.

Adams County Education Consortium

With an unprecedented agreement, the business and education communities of Adams County announced the creation of the Adams County Education Consortium (ACEC) to bridge the needs of business and the education of the population of the county.

This countywide partnership is a pro-active response to the needs of the communities and will enhance academic skills development, career knowledge and exploration and relevant work ready skills for all learner groups in Adams County.

Retail Developments
There are several retail centers complete or planned in Adams County including:

• Brighton Pavilions, a 14.3-acre development with more than 33,000 square feet, located near U.S. Hwy. 85 in Brighton. The project has 7 restaurants, various retail outlets and the area’s newest 12-screen movie theater. It is the first retail development to center around a Park-n-Ride transit.
• Larkridge is slated to the area’s newest regional retail center.  Located on 240-acres near the intersection on E-470 and I-25, the two million square foot mall will employ over 800 people. Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond and Sears Grand opened stores at Larkridge in 2005. 
• The Marketplace at Northglenn, at the corner of I-25 and 104th Avenue is a 650,000 square foot redevelopment project and home to Lowe’s Home Improvement, Borders Books, OshKosh, Marshals and several other retailers and restaurants.
• The Orchard Town Center, a 1.1 million square foot regional life style center is currently being developed by Forest City Commercial at the northwest corner of 144th Avenue and I-25.  Phase 1 will be opened in November 2006.  Announced tenants for the project include Macy’s, AMC Theatres, Target and JC Penneys.

Transportation

Adams County offers true intermodal transportation advantages: the county surrounds Denver International Airport (DIA) on three sides and is home to Front Range Airport, a general reliever airport located just six miles from DIA.  Union Pacific and Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railroads offer service in the county.  There is surface access in I-70, I-270, I-225, I-25, I-76, Hwy 2, Hwy 85 and Hwy 7.

Colorado voters approved funding for FasTracks, a comprehensive transit plan that allows the area to reap the benefits of growth while preserving quality of life.  FasTracks includes 119 miles of new rail in nine of the region’s most congested corridors, including rail service along I-25 from 160th Ave. to downtown Denver with stops at 124th, 112th, 100th, 88th, and Commerce City.  Adams County will see major benefits from FasTracks.  It will provide improved access for our residents to job centers like Fitzsimons and the Denver Tech Center.  Major developments are already planned along the North Metro, East, and I-225 corridors that will stimulate the economy and bring substantial economic benefits to Adams County.

An Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the cities of Thornton and Westminster will create two additional key intersections at 136th and 144th Avenues at I-25.  The 136th Avenue and I-25 interchange opened in June 2004, and the interchange at 144th Avenue is slated to open in October 2006.

In addition, E-470, the metro area’s major beltway connects at I-25 and ties into the Northwest Parkway, which connects to the Boulder Turnpike (US 36). 

These initiatives will provide easy and direct access for Adams County residents to Denver International Airport and will offer easy access to a multitude of job opportunities for employees living outside of Adams County.