October 30, 2015

With new development, Brighton is resurging

In September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its first-quarter figures for 2015. Adams County was the second-fastest for job growth in the nation, and Brighton is the Adams County seat.

The bureau tracks job growth each quarter for the country’s 342 largest counties and Adams was at a whopping 5.8 percent growth pace – more than double the national 2.1 percent average. In 2013 and 2014, Weld County was number one for job growth in America. Brighton straddles the Weld-Adams county line, so it should come as no surprise that Brighton is in the square center of Colorado’s resurgence of job growth and economic activity.

“The positive growth is evident,” said Valerie Escatel, chair of the Brighton Economic Development Corp. From Escatel’s position as vice president of Valley Bank and Trust, she sees the rewards of the community’s resurgence efforts.

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“The Brighton EDC has worked hard to encourage business attraction, business expansion and entrepreneurial growth,” she said. “Our hard work is paying off with the opening of companies like FMC Technologies in our Energy Corridor and residential construction in most of our subdivisions.”

FMC Technologies, a Fortune 500 company and a global provider of technology solutions for the energy industry, opened its Brighton SuperCenter in May. The state-of-the-art facility is a 50,000-square-foot sales and service facility, employing nearly 100 people on 20 acres just west of Vestas’ Brighton campus. Vestas, the world leader in wind-power technology, has two Brighton factories, employing more than 1,200. Several economists have noted the energy sector is at the heart of Colorado’s job resurgence.

While lower oil prices and operating rig counts may dominate headlines, other industries have benefitted from a lower energy cost environment. It is true that incumbent fuels have suffered substantial setbacks since mid-year, but alternative energy, construction and logistics have all been resurging with activity and hiring.

With job growth comes a resurgence in residential housing permits. New home construction, average home values and resales in Brighton are all moving ahead at a brisk pace. The number of single family detached housing permits has increased by almost six times since the depth of the Great Recession.

Multi-family development is resurging ahead throughout the metro area, including in Brighton.  Solaire, a 252-unit energy-efficient apartment community, was 100 percent leased when it opened 15 months ago. The $35 million Solaire project has been so successful that on Oct. 20, the City Council approved a development agreement so the development team can build a similar multi-family project at Brighton’s Prairie Center. The new energy-efficient apartment community is called The Element at Prairie Center and will offer first-rate amenities in addition to geothermal and solar heating systems. With the approval of construction drawings and building permits just weeks away, The Element will mark the first residential units to be built in the Prairie Center project.

At buildout, the master plan for Prairie Center calls for more than 2,000 residential dwellings to join the already successful regional commercial development and open space in place. National retailers such as Kohl’s, JCPenney, SuperTarget and Dick’s Sporting Goods have long been important regional draws to the Prairie Center. The recent opening of a Ross store and the construction of a new 50,000-square-foot liquor store mark the beginning of a new resurgence in retail development at the Prairie Center.

Also in the Prairie Center, Platte Valley Medical Center has taken three important steps in its resurgence as a world-class regional medical and community wellness facility. The first step: announcing a formal partnership with SCL Health this month. Joining the SCL Health family places PVMC in the very best position to provide even more advanced care through the expansion of specialties and services for the regional community. The second step is construction of a second medical office building, slated for completion in early 2016. The third step is a multi-million-dollar upgrade to the existing PVMC facilities on the Brighton campus.

Michael Martinez is executive director of the Brighton Economic Development Corp.

In September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its first-quarter figures for 2015. Adams County was the second-fastest for job growth in the nation, and Brighton is the Adams County seat.

The bureau tracks job growth each quarter for the country’s 342 largest counties and Adams was at a whopping 5.8 percent growth pace – more than double the national 2.1 percent average. In 2013 and 2014, Weld County was number one for job growth in America. Brighton straddles the Weld-Adams county line, so it should come as no surprise that Brighton is in the square…

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