Economy & Economic Development  November 27, 2015

Advance Longmont: Economic development by collaboration

Longmont enjoys a number of economic and place-based attributes that, according to a recent ranking by Wall Street 24/7 (247wallst.com), make it one of the best cities in which to live in America.

These attributes include diversified economic drivers encompassing manufacturing, advanced technologies, professional services, and the creative and culinary arts; a competitive business climate; a progressive K-12 education system preparing students for the jobs of the future; an unprecedented investment in the build-out of gigabit broadband infrastructure for the entire community; and many others.

Longmont’s rate of post-recession job creation, and population growth that has far exceeded the national average over the last decade help to validate our attractiveness to both residents and employers. All in all, Longmont is doing pretty well.

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But as a community, we have not become complacent. The reality of unanticipated challenges, and our vulnerability to them, is evident in the recent relocation of one of our largest employers and in the devastating floods that destroyed homes and infrastructure. Global competition for jobs, investment and talent has never been more intense. Recognizing the need and the opportunity for the community to revisit its economic-development goals, objectives and approach, local leaders recently engaged in a comprehensive strategic planning process that resulted in a comprehensive and collaborative approach to economic development now known as Advance Longmont.

This strategic-planning process engaged broad input and participation from business and community leaders to document a variety of strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities.

The resulting Advance Longmont plan calls for extraordinary cooperation by partner organizations throughout the community in achieving the economic development vision of the community: “Sitting at the intersection of high-technology and manufacturing, Longmont exemplifies the best of the Front Range, offering a unique combination of infrastructure, high quality of life, skilled workforce and business-friendly climate while remaining affordable and welcoming.”

Advance Longmont partner organizations range in scope from traditional primary industry economic development to local and small-business development, support for innovation and entrepreneurship, minority business development, education, downtown development and affordable housing. The result of this collaborative approach to economic development for Longmont so far has been an unprecedented alignment, energy and cooperation among all of these partner organizations – each of which has taken an active role in the plan’s execution – and an unmistakable commitment and enthusiasm among public- and private-sector leaders and stakeholders for pursuing shared economic objectives and for creating an effective organizational structure to lead these efforts and deliver results.

And deliver results we have. Together, we’ve put Longmont on the map as a global destination for innovation and entrepreneurship as evidenced by the overwhelming success of the first-ever Longmont Startup Week that brought more than 1,400 attendees to Longmont to hear 90 speakers at more than 40 events at venues across the community.

We’ve seen an incredible response to Longmont New Tech Meetup, with nearly 200 people from across Metro Denver and Northern Colorado attending the first meetup and another 265 already registered for the next.

Deployment of the city’s NextLight broadband service, recognized as one of the fastest ISPs in the world, is ahead of schedule in providing gigabit service to every resident and business in the community. With the build-out of this network, Longmont becomes Colorado’s first gigabit city and one of the first in the nation.

For the first time in the history of the Colorado Enterprise Zone program, Longmont made a successful application for inclusion of strategic portions of the city in a newly created North Metro Enterprise Zone. So far in 2015, 16 primary companies have announced that they will relocate or expand in Longmont, bringing 300 new primary jobs to the community. An active pipeline of 29 additional prospects offers the potential to bring another nearly 1,200 jobs to the city.

These are just a few examples of the Advance Longmont collaboration at work. With continued collaboration and commitment at this level, Longmont can ensure a prosperous economic future for the entire community that will provide good jobs, a growing tax base and opportunities for new companies, entrepreneurs and residents.

Jessica Erickson is president of the Longmont Area Economic Council.

Longmont enjoys a number of economic and place-based attributes that, according to a recent ranking by Wall Street 24/7 (247wallst.com), make it one of the best cities in which to live in America.

These attributes include diversified economic drivers encompassing manufacturing, advanced technologies, professional services, and the creative and culinary arts; a competitive business climate; a progressive K-12 education system preparing students for the jobs of the future; an unprecedented investment in the build-out of gigabit broadband infrastructure for the entire community; and many others.

Longmont’s rate of post-recession job creation, and population growth that…

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