October 30, 2015

Publisher’s notebook: It’s not just about 300 or 301

Even as debate rages over restrictive growth controls under consideration on Boulder’s Nov. 3 ballot – measures 300 and 301 – companies from all industries point to a harsh reality: It’s already extremely difficult to expand within the city.

Office space – even with new construction for Google at 30th and Pearl streets, the PearlWest and Wencil developments downtown, and other projects – remains in increasingly short and costly supply.

The problem has become acute, affecting companies in all industries. Every month, I scan the faces around me at one of BizWest’s CEO Roundtables, at which we gather leaders from one of the Boulder Valley’s dominant industries, meeting alternately in the conference rooms of EKS&H or Berg Hill Greenleaf & Ruscitti in downtown Boulder. Amidst the confidence that comes with entrepreneurs enjoying a strong economy, expressions of concern are evident.

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Whether the gathering has assembled leaders in the banking, bioscience, clean-tech, health-care, natural and organic, outdoor, real estate, technology or other sectors, concerns raised invariably turn to one or more of the following topics:

• Commercial real estate is extremely difficult to find at an affordable rate, especially in the Boulder core. Companies looking to expand often have to explore neighboring communities in Boulder or Broomfield counties, or else move elsewhere in the Denver metropolitan area or beyond.

• Extremely low unemployment rates make it hard to find workers, restraining the growth of some companies, forcing them to move elsewhere or to recruit from a wider geographic area, thus contributing to lengthy and stressful commutes and adding to traffic congestion.

• The increasing cost of housing – particularly noticeable in high-priced Boulder but an increasing problem all along the Front Range – makes it harder to convince young professionals to accept jobs in the Boulder area.

Access to capital also remains a challenge in some sectors, but the shortage of office and industrial space, difficulty finding workers and lack of affordable housing remain the top complaints, and those factors could accelerate the shift of companies out of Boulder proper, regardless of what happens with 300 and 301.

At the heart of the problem is the law of supply and demand. Cushman & Wakefield tallies 666 office buildings in the Boulder market, totaling 11.5 million square feet. That space stands at just 4.5 percent vacant marketwide, contributing to escalating rents that stood at $26.26 per square foot, converted to full service, as of the third quarter of 2015, according to the company. But the average asking rent for Class A space – the most desirable – has spiked to $33.18.

Companies such as Google and SolidFire can afford higher prices, but what about the hundreds of smaller companies struggling to find space to grow? Perhaps it’s time for Boulder civic leaders to look beyond the city borders, to work more closely with Broomfield, Lafayette, Longmont, Louisville, Erie and other communities to find alternatives for companies that can no longer afford the city by the Flatirons.

Leaders should think holistically about the local economy, including real estate options, transportation impacts, housing, the true regional nature of industry clusters and other factors. If Boulder suffers an earache, Longmont and other communities might provide the cure.

What happens with ballot measures 300 and 301 will affect every industry. But current challenges finding office space do, too.

Christopher Wood can be reached at 303-630-1942, 970-232-3133 or via email at cwood@bizwestmedia.com.

Even as debate rages over restrictive growth controls under consideration on Boulder’s Nov. 3 ballot – measures 300 and 301 – companies from all industries point to a harsh reality: It’s already extremely difficult to expand within the city.

Office space – even with new construction for Google at 30th and Pearl streets, the PearlWest and Wencil developments downtown, and other projects – remains in increasingly short and costly supply.

The problem has become acute, affecting companies in all industries. Every month, I scan the faces around me at one of BizWest’s CEO Roundtables,…

Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.
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