EXECUTIVE UPDATE / March 10, 2006

PROSPECT UPDATE: EDC has seen very strong prospect activity in February and early March, indicating that companies are again moving forward with business expansion plans. 17 new prospect inquiries have been received since January 1 and EDC has hosted nine visits of companies considering Colorado Springs for expansion or relocation operations. Several companies are in the final decision phase with announcements expected by the end of first quarter 2006. Community Bible Study has announced the relocation of its’ non-profit headquarter operations to Colorado Springs which represents 35 jobs.
Plans to develop a 320-room luxury hotel at Interquest Marketplace, in north Colorado Springs, were announced by John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts on March 7. The Interquest project is a joint venture between Nor’wood Development Group and Classic Companies. The Renaissance hotel, which is part of the Marriott brand, is scheduled to open in the Spring of 2009.
Falcon School District 49 will have a newly-constructed K-8 charter school in place to begin its fall 2006 school year. The Banning Lewis Ranch Company, with support from the development’s homebuilders and bond financing, is constructing Banning Lewis Ranch Academy which will serve elementary and middle school students in the district. www.blracademy.org.
The need to increase the annual average wage in El Paso County, part of EDC’s mission, was reinforced by data recently released by Care & Share. Locally, more than half of the agency’s clients reported having to choose between paying for food or rent or mortgage. Seventy-six percent of households served have incomes below the federal poverty level. 630 local interviews were conducted. (Source: The Gazette.)
Terry Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Experience Colorado Springs! was recently elected the 2006 President of the Tourism Industry Association of Colorado. The tourism association is a non-profit that includes about 50 members in the tourism industry, such as the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association, Colorado Restaurant Association and Ski Country USA. (Source: The Gazette.)
Report on the Economy 2005 is available from The Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation. This report provides an overview of economic activity in the Colorado Springs area for the previous year, and provides an idea of what the next year may hold for the region. The Report was handed out at the EDC’s Annual Economic Update Luncheon on January 26. For more information, click here or go to www.coloradosprings.org/Doc/2005_Economic_Highlights.pdf.
For an update on COSMIX (Colorado Springs Metro Interstate Expansion) activity, click here or go to www.cosmixproject.com.
Colorado ranks third in the nation in the percentage of engineers and scientists in the workforce, second in the percentage of jobs in the advanced technology sector, fourth in economic competitiveness, and fifth in its ability to attract venture capital. Colorado fared poorly in government and fiscal policy at 39th. These rankings were announced in January by the Adams Group. For a full report click here or go to www.coloradoeconomy.com/news.html.
Economic Development activity on a national level remained the same according to a recent 2005 National Survey of Economic Development Professionals. Although the overall picture is the same as 2004 several indicators were on the rise for the fourth quarter of 2005, the Future Activity Levels and the Current Economic Sentiment. http://gpec.org/edsurvey/results0106.pdf.
Air travelers can pay to reduce time waiting in security lines with the purchase of a biometric ID card that will reduce waiting time to 10 minutes for a fee of $80 to $100. The Registered Traveler program starts in June with Boston, Sacramento, Indianapolis and Orlando airports participating. Most other major U.S. airports will follow suit within a year or so. The Transportation Security Administration won’t guarantee there will be no security stops for a trusted flier, but they’ll be rare. (Source: The Kiplinger Washington Editors.)
Referendum C Accountability Tour will visit Colorado Springs March 17. A bipartisan group of legislators in cooperation with the Bell Policy Center, are holding a series of town hall meetings around the state to discuss the allocation of funds retained through the passage of Referendum C. Click here for more information or go to www.coloradosprings.org/Doc/RefC.pdf.
For questions or comments regarding the Executive Update, please contact Julie Boswell at jboswell@csedc.org