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Tag: Economic development

Hancock: The future of Colorado hangs between boom and blackout
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Substack, Top Stories

Hancock: The future of Colorado hangs between boom and blackout

By Michael A. Hancock | Commentary, Substack There's a difference between dreaming big and hallucinating. Colorado's progressive legislators have yet to figure that out. Once a beacon of frontier grit and entrepreneurial promise, Colorado is drifting into a twilight of self-imposed stagnation. This isn't the result of some unforeseeable external shock. No. The decline is being engineered — brick by legislative brick — by a political class more interested in social signaling than in fostering economic vitality. The question isn't whether Colorado faces a reckoning. The question is whether we will admit the cause before we hit the wall. Let's start with energy, the lifeblood of any serious economy. Colorado holds a wealth of natural resources—oil, gas, coal, and uranium— all of ...
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Walcher: We built it, and they still won’t come
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Approved, GregWalcher.com, Rocky Mountain Voice

Walcher: We built it, and they still won’t come

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com Building a new subdivision is complicated. Almost every city and county in America have master plans dictating “conforming uses” of land. Most specify lot and home sizes, rules for vehicle access, water supply, sewage disposal, flood control, affordable housing, and park space. Those are addressed in lengthy application processes and public hearings, all preceding building the infrastructure, and then the homes. The National Association of Home Builders says government regulations account for 24 percent of the final price of new homes. Sixty percent of that comes during planning and development, only 40 percent during actual construction. Those costs are many times higher when building businesses or industries. So, how much cheape...
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‘I can’t do business in Denver now’: Developers flee as climate mandates bite
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

‘I can’t do business in Denver now’: Developers flee as climate mandates bite

By Mark Samuelson | Denver Gazette While Colorado is earning praise from climate advocates for its new mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, developers and their economists are giving D and F grades to the state and its capital city, blaming the regulations for a noticeable decline in some projects. Representatives for developers and property owners are flagging new data showing a marked drop-off in investments and revenues from commercial projects in Colorado. That decline, they said, follows directly on the heels of Colorado's adoption of some of the nation’s boldest carbon-reducing strategies. The regulations include the Energize Denver ordinance, adopted unanimously by the Denver City Council in 2021. The ordinance seeks to reduce carbon emissions from larger commercial...
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Bass Pro to build a 130,000-square-foot store in Loveland
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Bass Pro to build a 130,000-square-foot store in Loveland

By Alexander Kirk | Denver Gazette, via 9News Bass Pro Shops is planning its sixth location in Colorado. The outdoor retail company is constructing a 130,000-square-foot Outdoor World store in Loveland. The store is located in the "Brands at the Ranch" mixed-use development, off Interstate 25 and Crossroads Boulevard, near the Larimer County Fairgrounds and Blue Arena. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Meadows Apartments, a $25 million project in Craig, will be supported by $2.7 million state grant
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Approved, Local, The Steamboat Pilot

Meadows Apartments, a $25 million project in Craig, will be supported by $2.7 million state grant

By Suzie Romig  | The Steamboat Pilot Craig Economic Development Manager Shannon Scott is excited that $2.7 million in state funding will assist a 96-unit rental apartment project for attainable workforce housing. Formerly known as the Woodbury Park Apartments, the overall estimated $25 million project is in the final stages of land procurement for five acres of private, industrially zoned land located south of downtown Craig, Scott said Thursday. In addition to a new location, the project has a new name, the Meadows Apartments. The overall cost of the housing project is estimated between $25 million and $29 million, said Heidi Dragoo, director of community relations for the Montrose-based, family-owned development company Colorado Outdoors, which is leading the project. READ T...
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Developer sues Castle Pines after City Council denied McDonald’s plan
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Developer sues Castle Pines after City Council denied McDonald’s plan

By Olivia Young | CBS Colorado In Castle Pines, a fight over a proposed McDonald's has escalated to a legal battle. Developers want to build a 3,671-square-foot McDonald's with a two-lane drive-through near Castle Pines Parkway and Lagae Road. It would be part of the soon-to-be-developed "Parkway Plaza," which has already been approved by the City Council. But in March, neighbors showed up in droves to the planning commission's meeting to speak out against the proposal. The commission denied the application and the issue was appealed to the City Council to be discussed at a May meeting, where community members again spoke out against the development. The Council voted 5-2 against the site improvement plan and was met with cheers from the audience. READ THE FULL STORY AT CB...
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Indoor water surfing facility eyed for Colorado Springs’ north side
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Approved, Colorado Springs Gazette, Local

Indoor water surfing facility eyed for Colorado Springs’ north side

By Rich Laden | Colorado Springs Gazette Surf’s up — on Colorado Springs’ landlocked north side, of all places. Surf Shack, a planned, two-story 12,000-square-foot recreation center, would bring indoor water surfing to Polaris Pointe, the retail and commercial development southeast of Interstate 25 and North Gate Boulevard, according to a proposal submitted to city government officials. As envisioned, Surf Shack would employ a wave machine manufactured by San Diego-based FlowRider, whose technology dates back more than 30 years and simulates ocean waves for riders, according to the company’s website. FlowRider machines can be found in water parks, hotels and on cruise ships, among other places. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE
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New Colorado stop sign: Buc-ee’s, the big, beloved convenience store opening its first location
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Approved, Northern Colorado, The Colorado Sun

New Colorado stop sign: Buc-ee’s, the big, beloved convenience store opening its first location

By Parker Yamasaki | The Colorado Sun JOHNSTOWN — As a kid, Randy Pauly’s favorite barbecue in Texas was served out of a window. He’d order a brisket sandwich, step back and wait for a hand to slide a plate out in front of him. He never saw what he called “the action.” The chopping, slicing, saucing and slamming it all together. When Pauly became the full-time pitmaster for Buc-ee’s, a Texas-based gas station known for its fresh-cut brisket sandwiches and buck-toothed beaver mascot, he wanted to turn the sandwich assembly into a show.  “Freeeeeeeshhhh brisket on the board!!!” a man in a red polo shirt, denim apron and fake tattered cowboy hat yells out from the Buc-ee’s butcher block. “Fresh brisket on the board!” The other deli counter employees around him echo, with va...
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Vision Collision: Cherry Creek ponders over super-sized project
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Denver Metro

Vision Collision: Cherry Creek ponders over super-sized project

By Mark Samuelson | Colorado Politics Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood, with a shopping district that was once known for its quirky charms, has gone through a remarkable run of commercial and residential building projects over the past two decades, with more to come. And that has residents worried. A few decades ago, the small area’s boutiques, bistros and galleries were wrapped by shaded neighborhoods, where people could find everything from custom homes to small bungalows that a schoolteacher or gardener might afford. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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