Colorado: Welcome
to Telecom Corridor

The Centennial State has come to be known for its rapid growth in high-tech, dot-com type industries. Denver, for instance, has been nicknamed the Telecom Corridor for its high concentration of telecommunications, aerospace and computer software corporations, and so far the dot-com slide has had little effect on the state's economy.

Fighting Denver Sprawl With urban sprawl a growing concern for the Denver metro area, developers are taking a close look at how to solve the problem. One such group has found a solution.         Forest City Stapleton Inc. is redeveloping the former Stapleton Airport, located just minutes from Denver International Airport. Stapleton is the largest urban redevelopment project in the nation at 4,700 acres (1,904 hectares). The project will include 10 million sq. ft. (929,030 sq. m.) of office, 3 million sq. ft. (278,709 sq. m.) of retail and 12,000 homes in an enterprise zone.         "It will create a pedestrian-friendly urban community that has a very high quality of life," says Tom Gleason, vice president of public relations for Forest City Stapleton. "It's the kind of place employers will have access to a well-educated employee base that provides housing within walking distance to their jobs."

        What has caused some concern for the state and the businesses that operate there, however, is the urban sprawl that cities such as Denver have experienced in recent years due to the rapid growth of such industries as telecommunications. In a still tight labor market, the ability to draw workers into a community for work is still very important to corporations looking to expand operations, and issues such as land use and traffic congestion can thwart companies' efforts to attract the best and the brightest.
        At press time, Colorado state legislators were pondering two growth plans -- one from the Democrats and one from the Republicans. Sen. Ed Perlmutter (D) and Rep. Joe Stengel (R) agreed to sponsor the dueling legislation jointly in order to better craft a compromise between the House and Senate.
        Under the Republican plan, a requirement for a jobs-housing balance would be set, meaning the local government would be required to set aside enough land for a percentage of total jobs created by a new or expanded facility. The advantage, Republicans say, is to provide housing near work, avoiding long commutes. The Democrats look to develop regional planning groups, forcing communities to work together better. This would stop squabbling between communities about such issues as who receives tax revenues. A resolution to this crucial issue is not expected to be finalized until late in the legislative session.
        Some developers, however, are taking steps toward better development strategies on their own. Forest City Stapleton is redeveloping an old airport near downtown Denver into a master-planned-community setting, providing housing, retail and commercial space (see accompanying story).
        Despite the growth controversy, Denver and other Colorado metros continue to see growth in high-tech companies. InFlow Inc., which offers data centers and managed services for e-businesses such as MapQuest, Headhunter.net, ATHome Corp. and JonesKnowledge, is investing $20 million in Thornton, Adams County, for construction of its largest Denver-area Data Network Exchange center.