Wall Street Journal shines spotlight on Colorado Springs and USOC

It's possible to buy this sort of publicity for your city, but it's so much better when it comes for free. The Monday, July 28, Wall Street Journal includes a special six-page report on seven economic development success stories around the globe -- "seven places, seven ideas," as a Journal editor's note explain. Among the seven cities featured in the report: Colorado Springs and its successful effort to retain the U.S. Olympic Committee headquarters. A story explains how politicians, civic leaders and business people worked together to prevent the USOC from moving its headquarters out of the Springs, where it's been for 30 years. Mayor Lionel Rivera, USOC Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr and local developer Ray Marshall are among those interviewed in the story; they discuss some of the details of a $53 million incentives package offered by the city to keep the UOSC here. "This is a watershed event for Colorado Springs in terms of economic development," Mike Anderson, deputy city manager, is quoted by the Journal. "The broad partnership put together is hopefully a model that can be used in the future." To see the story, go to online.wsj.com/public/page/2_1593.html and click on "Capturing the Gold."

CNBC ranks Colorado on list of top states for business

Gov. Bill Ritter today praised a new report that names Colorado to CNBC’s prestigious annual list of America’s Top States for Business, which ranks Colorado No. 5 and specifically cites the state’s "new energy economy."

CNBC analyzed 40 factors in 10 broad categories. Colorado’s highest rankings came in the categories of business friendliness (Colorado ranked 5^t) and quality of life (Colorado ranked 7^t).

The report said Colorado’s new energy economy was one of the biggest reasons the state climbed to No. 5 from No. 7 last year. “Colorado has been actively courting what it calls the New Energy Economy, like wind and solar, and the efforts are paying off.”

In all, Colorado scored among the top 15 states in six of the 10 categories, including overall economic climate, access to capital, workforce quality and state support for technology and innovation.

“This is great news for Colorado,” said Gov. Ritter, who was in Spain this week on an energy economic-development mission. “It’s another positive sign that our aggressive efforts to build a New Energy Economy by attracting local, national and international companies and expanding our employment base are paying off. One thing that separates Colorado from other states is our unique combination of intellectual capital and entrepreneurial Western spirit. The CNBC recognition is an acknowledgment of that.”

Green economy lecture at Colorado College in April

Bob Epstein, a California entrepreneur and engineer, will discuss, “The Green Economy: Why Businesses Are Leading the Efforts to Address Climate Change," during Earth Week at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Epstein, a co-founder of five companies and who currently wears several hats as co-founder of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), director of New Resource Bank and trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council, will speak at 7:30 p.m April 22 at the Jerome P. McHugh Student Commons, above the Herb 'n' Farm Café, in the Western Ridge Housing Complex, 1090 N. Cascade Ave. The event is free.

Economist Crowley to speak at HBA meeting

Economist Fred Crowley (right) of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs will discuss the state of the local economy during a breakfast meeting of the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs, on Wednesday, March 12, at the Doubletree Hotel Colorado Springs World Arena, 1775 E. Cheyenne Mountain Blvd., on the city's south side. Breakfast and registration begin at 7:30 a.m.; the program runs from 8 to 10 a.m. Among his topics, Crowley will discuss housing, job growth, interest rates and the effect of the military on the local economy. The event is $20 for HBA members and $40 for non-members. More information and to register: 592-1800 or http://www.cshba.com/hba/index.cfm?ID=96C96DFF-F728-44D6-B38F79DF38853F86

Crowley: Hotel industry troubled

Colorado Springs needs a way to attract more visitors if the hotel industry’s flagging fortunes are to be reversed, local economist Fred Crowley said today.


What that something is — new attractions, a convention center, winter festivals — Crowley didn’t say.


“I don’t know what the answer is,” said Crowley, senior economist for the Southern Colorado Economic Forum. But he suggested a market study be done in search of that answer. “What is being done elsewhere?” he said. "What can we do here to take advantage of the success of others?”


Crowley, at a meeting of the southern Colorado chapter of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, pointed to some troubling trends in the local hotel industry. Colorado Springs’ share of the state’s hotel revenue has fallen. Occupancy rates are down. With demand soft, increases in room rates aren’t keeping up with inflation.


Crowley also discussed the national economic picture. And as he did at a recent meeting of the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors, he brought up the “R” word. “I think we are a whisker away from a recession,” he warned.

Hunters, anglers boost the economy

Colorado’s 593,000 hunters and anglers have a significant impact on the state’s economy, spending more than $1.2 billion a year on hunting and fishing, acording to a report released by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. The foundation also released a state-by-state ranking for various categories related to hunting and fishing. Colorado is the No. 2 destination state for hunting, topped only by Georgia. The report, “Hunting and Fishing: Bright Stars of the American Economy,” is available at www.sportsmenslink.org.

Real estate group convenes economic forecast breakfast Jan. 24

Want to know the outlook for the local economy and real estate market in 2008? The Southern Colorado chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management will hold its 17th annual economic forecast breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Jan. 24 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (formerly the Sheraton), 2886 S. Circle Drive on Colorado Springs' south side. The breakfast, usually attended by several hundred business people, will include a look at Colorado Springs' economy as well as the commercial, single-family and apartment markets. Speakers include Mike Anderson, assistant Colorado Springs city manager and a longtime local economist; Doug Carter, a commercial broker with Sperry Van Ness and who specializes in the apartment market; Brian Maecker, a real estate agent with the Maecker Team and Re/Max Advantage; and Kent Mau, a commercial broker with Sierra Commercial Real Estate. The cost is $35 before Jan. 16; afterward, the cost is $45. More information: Linda Littlefield at the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors, 633-7718, ext. 110 or http://www.irem53.org./

Springs falls in Best Peforming Cities rank

Colorado Springs fell to the middle of the pack in annual rankings by a California think tank of the ability of cities to create and sustain jobs.
The Springs ranked 96th in the rankings released last month, down from 71st in 2005, the last year the rankings had been produced by the Milken Institute, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based nonprofit economic think tank created by financier Michael Milken.
The city has ranked as high as 10th in 2000, but has declined every year but 2005 in rankings of the nation’s 200 largest metropolitan areas. That’s mostly because city’s weak job growth during the past five years, which included declines in 2002 and 2003. “This is not a surprise as the data looks back from one to six years and includes our recession years where our tech sector was hit hard,” said Mike Kazmierski, president of the Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp., which helps attract industry to the city. Three Florida cities — Ocala, Orlando and Naples, ranked among the top six in the institute’s latest ranking, which was sponsored by Greenstreet Real Estate Partners. The rankings this year reflect the year the data is released; in past years they reflected the year the data was collected. Among other Colorado cities, Greeley ranked 29th, up from 31st in 2005; Fort Collins ranked 75th, down from 46th; Boulder ranked 93rd, down from 92nd; Denver ranked 106th, down from 105th. Among 179 smaller metro areas, Grand Junction ranked 18th, up from 37th, and Pueblo ranked 130th, unchanged. For more information, go to http://www.milkeninstitute.org/

Coast IRB opens local office

Coast Independent Review Board LLC, a company that monitors the safety of drugs and medical devices, opened a temporary office in Colorado Springs on May 14. Within 60 days, the company will move into a permanent, 10,000-square-foot office at 5475 Mark Dabling Blvd., suite 351. The new office is undergoing remodeling, said Bill Darnell, project manager.

The Orange County, Calif.-headquartered Coast IRB announced in February it would open an office in Colorado Springs and bring 180 jobs in the next five years.

The work force is at 16 now, Darnell said. He expects employees to number 50 by the end of this year.

The company focuses on protecting patients of clinical reserach trials.

Critics blast Springs liveability

Colorado Springs has been getting a bad rap on Sperling's Best Places Web site message board, despite the city guide ranking the Springs fourth-best metro area in America.

Some comments from people living here:

• "Only good if you're rich."
• "I've lived in Colorado Springs most of my life. Over the years it has become too expensive to live here. There are no good jobs. If you want a job, you have to work minimum wage."
• "The military doesn't help because the soldiers work, too, so you have to fight them for jobs even though they make decent money from being in the military and they get plenty of discounts in town!"
• "All in all this is only a good place to live if you have the money. Otherwise, go somewhere else!!"
• "The cost of housing is outrageous. The average house is $223k. Houses in good school districts are $350k+. We can afford to buy a house here, but decided not to b/c we hope to leave in 2 yrs or so. That's as long as we can take it."
• "The people here are somewhat nice (but not overly so). If you're expecting smiles and someone making light conversation--don't. No one goes out of their way. Think long and hard about moving here!!!"
• "I do not know any metro area with half a million people that doesnt have a bypass around its city."