State approves tax incentives for pair of firms considering expansion, job creation

DENVER — The Colorado Economic Development Commission Thursday approved the offering of tax incentives for a pair of unnamed firms considering expanding or establishing operations in the Denver metropolitan area, which includes Boulder and Broomfield counties.

It is the commission’s practice not to identify companies the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade is recruiting until incentives are accepted.

A software-enabled, peer-to-peer sharing service, nicknamed Project Flood, is eyeing the Denver metro area for a new headquarters.

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“If the company chose to move forward in Colorado, all additional headquarters positions would be added in the office location ultimately selected in the Denver metro region,” according to Michelle Hadwiger, OEDIT deputy director and director of global business development.

Project Flood could add up to 1,483 net new full-time jobs in the region, spread across roles in management, finance, engineering and administration. The average annual salary would be  $163,677.

In exchange, the company is seeking nearly $16.4 million in tax incentives.

Project Flood is also considering sites in Arizona, Georgia, and Idaho.

Project Island, described by the OEDIT as “a privately-held energy and technology company that provides oil and gas companies with a cost-effective way to capture environmentally-harmful byproducts of oil and gas extraction and convert those byproducts into electricity,” is considering establishing a new operations center in the Denver metropolitan region, but has not settled on a specific county. 

“The company’s key decision-making factors are proximity to their existing operations, ability to hire locally or attract the necessary talent, and total annual cost of operations,” according to OEDIT documents.

Project Island would create 286 jobs in accounting, finance, legal, human resources, technology, and sales and marketing roles. The average annual salary would be $122,795.

The company is seeking more than $3.8 million in tax incentives. 

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