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October 23, 2014 VOLU M E 51 | I S S UE 1 0 | 5 0 ¢
Northglenn-ThorntonSentinel.com A D A M S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
ADCO’s growth outpaces nation Construction, health care, oil and gas job sectors booming By Tammy Kranz
tkranz@colorado communitymedia.com From large retail developments like The Grove in Thornton and Webster Lake Promenade in Northglenn, to housing projects like Midtown in southern unincorporated Adams County to the project at Legacy Ridge in Westminster. From the construction along Interstate 25 between 120th Avenues and U.S. 36, to the work on the North Metro Line and the oil and gas activity, mainly in the eastern sections of the county. From the expansion of medical clinics to the revitalization of older neighborhoods in unincorporated areas ... economic development — big and small — flourishes in Adams County. “I think it’s really remarkable how much we’re experiencing all at once,” said Kristin Sullivan, economic development manager with Adams County. “I think we’re seeing it more than other areas. We have a lot of room for growth.” Along with these projects come
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jobs, lots of them. According to a report published by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics in September, employment in Adams County increased by 4.7 percent between March 2013 and March 2014. The national average, 1.7 percent. “Adams County has 8,416 more jobs than it did a year ago,” said Barry Gore, president/CEO of Adams County Economic Development. “We started seeing an uptick last summer, and it’s been steadily increasing since then.” He estimates there to be 177,000 jobs in the county. Most of the job growth activity has been because of oil and gas exportation — up 10 percent from last year in the state, he said. “We know a very strong number of Adams County residents work in the oil and gas industry,” Gore said. There are 3,656 wells in unincorporated Adams County, 895 of those are actively producing. There are 110,000 direct and indirect jobs related to the oil and gas industry, and Sullivan said the average pay is $75,000. Many oil and gas companies are in the testing and evaluating stages. “It’s an area we’re not sure how much growth we’ll see in Adams County,” she said, adding it will depend on how regulations affect production. Building permits will meet or exceed 2013 level, Sullivan said, and the county has focused efforts on customer service to make doing business with the county easier. The county reduced the number of days it generally takes to review building permits — from 60 days down to 14-45 days. “Something small, but will make a big difference, is that we started providing our own electrical inspection,” Sullivan said. This means the county can be a one-stop shop for developers, reducing the time people spend on getting approvals and lining up inspections. While construction employment is up 8 percent in the state, Gore said, the biggest employer right now is in the healthcare industry. “Before the great recession, the construction sector was the largest employment sector in Adams County,” he said. “The recession kind of wiped that out and health care took over.”
Health care industry sees rapid growth
Adams County is the leader in the metro area for health care employment, Sullivan said. University of Colorado and Children’s Hospitals, both in Aurora, employ more than 5,000 people in Adams County. St. Anthony North has more than 850 on staff and North Suburban Medical Center has close to 800. “Between all four of them, they really make up a large number of jobs in Adams County,” Sullivan said. “Those four hospitals are in our top 10 employers in Adams County.” And those facilities are expanding, not just with staff, but with physical space. North Suburban expanded its reach into the community with standalone emergency rooms at 112th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard in Westminster and 128th Avenue and Holly Street in
Dental assistant Camilo Quezada takes X-rays of a patient’s teeth during a check-up in March at Clinica Family Health Services in Thornton. Clinica is just one of several health clinics that has expanded recently. The health-care industry provides the most jobs in Adams County. Photos by Tammy Kranz
‘I think it’s really remarkable how much we’re experiencing all at once.’ Kristin Sullivan Thornton. “Healthcare employment has been affected by some very large factors, like Baby Boomers retiring and needing more care, and even Medicaid expansion making care more accessible for some people,” said Jennifer Alderfer, president/ CEO of North Suburban. St. Anthony’s opened up its medical pavilion at 144th Avenue and I-25 a year and a half ago and a campus is being built around it. The campus includes a 350,000 square feet expansion that incorporates health and wellness services, 60,000 square feet of physician clinics, a women’s center, trauma center and lab an imaging services. The construction of this campus has benefited 61 contractors, said Chuck Montera, a spokesperson for St. Anthony North. “Local contractors include companies handling the electrical work, mechanical and HVAC, millwork, exterior stone work, landscaping, and more,” he said. Along with the direct job creations — temporary and permanent — related to these health care centers, there’s also the spinoff jobs. “Anytime you have employment centers where you have people come to work all day long,” Gore said, “you create a lot of need for restaurants and shopping experiences for that group of people.”
Workers move around dirt at the Webster Lake Promenade in Northglenn earlier this month. The development is one of several in Adams County that has helped the construction industry boom.
PROJECTS IN PROGRESS Highlights of some of the bigger developments happening in Adams County: The Grove 144th and Interstate 25 Thornton The Grove is a 63-acre retail development that features the 90,000-square-foot Cabela’s and is projected to have 290,000 square feet of hospitality and retail space when it’s built out. A 51-acre mixed use development adjacent to The Grove is planned between Grant and Washington streets, south of 144th. Plans for the development include a 465unit apartment complex, 7.4 acres of retail and 12.3 acres of commercial or office. Midtown 68th and Pecos Unincorporated Adams County This project has 183 acres of mixed use mostly residential (1,608 units), but also includes a 43-acre park and 6.7 acres of commercial development. Legacy Ridge Sheridan and 107th Drive A mix of 89-single family homes and 64 patio villa paired units are planned for the subdivision.
I-25 HOV This project creates a six miles of a new managed lane in each direction from U.S. 36 to 120th Avenue. FasTracks The North Metro Rail line is 18.5 miles of electric commuter rail that connects Denver Union Station with Northglenn, Commerce City and Thornton. The Regional Transportation District (RTD) is expected to complete the rail up to 124th Avenue in Thornton and open it to the public in 2018. Asarco redevelopment 56th Avenue and Washington Street Remediation and grading is underway at the 70-acre site of the ASARCO Smelter on the Denver and Adams County border. The developer is working on getting approval for plans for an industrial business park. Construction could begin as early as spring. Suncor Rocky Mountain Pipeline Project Crude oil pipeline from Cheyenne to the Suncor refinery in Commerce City. Through Adams County, the majority of the pipeline is within the railroad right-of-way owned by the Regional Transportation District where the North Metro Rail will be built.