The following projects were approved at the November 2024 Colorado Economic Development Commission meeting. The Colorado Economic Development Commission (EDC) develops incentive packages to assist with existing business expansions and new company relocations to grow jobs in all regions of the state. They typically meet on the third Thursday of every month.
The incentives requiring approval for these kind of projects are:
Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit
Strategic Fund Job Growth Incentive
These awards do not guarantee that the company will accept the offer and/or expand or relocate to Colorado.
PROJECT NAME: Atlantis
Summary
The company behind Project Atlantis is a manufacturing company in Colorado. Due to the nature of the company, further identification would jeopardize the company’s confidentiality.
The company behind project Atlantis is evaluating locations to consolidate and grow their US operations. In addition to Colorado, the company is considering Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas. Within Colorado, the company is considering Boulder County. Important factors for their decision are incentives, access to talent, tax environment, and existing supply chain partners in Colorado.
Jobs
Project Atlantis, should it occur in Colorado, expects to create 255 net new jobs at an average annual wage of $129,711, which is 145% of the average annual wage in Boulder County. The jobs will include operators, data engineers, and sales personnel. The company currently has 165 employees, 130 of whom are in Colorado.
Incentive
Up to $4,220,840 in performance-based Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits over an 8-year period, 96 months, is requested from the EDC. The amount of this incentive as recommended above takes into account OEDIT staff’s analysis of the four factors identified in C.R.S. § 39-22-531 (3)(c).
This incentive is contingent upon:
- The creation of up to 255 net new full-time jobs at a minimum average annual wage (AAW) of $89,544 (100% of Boulder County) or 100% of the AAW of any county in Colorado the company decides to locate over 8 years.
- The maintenance of the net new jobs in Colorado for one full year before any credits become vested.
- The creation and maintenance of at least 20 net new jobs before any credits are issued.
Consideration
This project would support the state’s economic goals by retaining a well-established and valued manufacturing company, retaining 165 jobs and adding 255 net new, good-paying jobs in one of Colorado's seven advanced industries. The consolidation and growth of this business in Colorado could further add supply chain partners in our state.
PROJECT NAME: Boggle
Summary
The company behind Project Boggle is a SaaS company that developed an AI platform that uses a collaborative approach to deliver personalized experiences through one platform.
This expansion would focus on developing the system to tailor to college professors and students to responsibly collaborate with GenAI for class preparation, classroom teaching and learning, and classwork assessments. In addition to Colorado, the company is considering Tysons, VA, Atlanta, GA, and Austin, TX. Within Colorado, the company is considering El Paso County. Cost of doing business, and access to talent are the primary drivers for the company.
Jobs
Project Boggle, should it occur in Colorado, expects to create 30 net new jobs at an average annual wage of $104,775, which is 165% of the average annual wage in El Paso County. The jobs will include Sales Account Executives, Developers, Data Scientists, and senior leadership. The company currently has 13 employees, 2 of whom are in Colorado.
Incentive
Up to $323,056 in performance-based Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits over an 8-year period, 96 months, is requested from the EDC. The amount of this incentive as recommended above takes into account OEDIT staff’s analysis of the four factors identified in C.R.S. § 39-22-531 (3)(c).
This incentive is contingent upon:
- The creation of up to 30 net new full-time jobs at a minimum average annual wage (AAW) of $63,362 (100% of El Paso County) or 100% of the AAW of any county in Colorado the company decides to locate over 8 years.
- The maintenance of the net new jobs in Colorado for one full year before any credits become vested.
- The creation and maintenance of at least 20 net new jobs before any credits are issued.
Consideration
This project would support the state’s economic goals by creating net new jobs in the economy and contributing to the SaaS and IT ecosystem in Colorado Springs.
PROJECT NAME: All Natural
Summary
The company behind Project All Natural produces and sells women’s health products and supplements. Due to the nature of the company, further identification would jeopardize the company’s confidentiality.
The owner of the company behind Project All Natural describes herself as a serial entrepreneur who has started numerous successful companies in the past. This represents a new venture for her for which she is in the midst of raising funds. In addition to Colorado, the company is considering Portland, Maine. The owner is originally from Colorado Springs and is considering relocating her HQ and production facility there as an opportunity to move closer to home, which is the prime factor in her consideration of Colorado.
Jobs
Project All Natural, should it occur in Colorado, expects to create 20 net new jobs at an average annual wage of $68,505, which is 108% of the average annual wage in El Paso County. The jobs will include executive and administrative roles, marketing positions, and production and shipping managers. The company currently has 1 employee who does not currently live in Colorado.
Incentive
Up to $74,628 in performance-based Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits over an 8-year period, 96 months, is requested from the EDC. The amount of this incentive as recommended above takes into account OEDIT staff’s analysis of the four factors identified in C.R.S. § 39-22-531 (3)(c).
This incentive is contingent upon:
- The creation of up to 20 net new full-time jobs at a minimum average annual wage (AAW) of $63,362 (100% of El Paso County) or 100% of the AAW of any county in Colorado the company decides to locate over 8 years.
- The maintenance of the net new jobs in Colorado for one full year before any credits become vested.
- The creation and maintenance of at least 20 net new jobs before any credits are issued.
Consideration
This project would support the state’s economic goals by supporting light manufacturing jobs in the women’s health sector.
PROJECT NAME: Penguin
Summary
The company behind Project Penguin is a Colorado company innovating manufacturing processes by decarbonizing a carbon-intensive manufacturing process through a renewable energy-powered electrochemical process. Due to the nature of the company, further identification would jeopardize the company’s confidentiality.
Project Penguin represents the company looking to build a new R&D/manufacturing facility to continue commercializing a low-carbon manufacturing process in Colorado or Texas. In addition to Colorado, the company is considering Houston. Within Colorado, the company is considering Jefferson County. The primary factors going into their decision include the grid makeup in terms of the percentage of renewables in the current and planned energy mix, and engineering talent. Currently, proximity to off-takers is not a driving factor, and are located nationally.
Jobs
Project Penguin, should it occur in Colorado, expects to create 40 net new jobs at an average annual wage of $84,243, which is 113% of the average annual wage in Jefferson County. The jobs will include Engineers, Researchers, Operators, Sales, General, and Admin. The company currently has 120 employees, 90 of whom are in Colorado.
Incentive
Up to $644,465 in performance-based Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits over an 8-year period, 96 months, is requested from the EDC. The amount of this incentive as recommended above takes into account OEDIT staff’s analysis of the four factors identified in C.R.S. § 39-22-531 (3)(c).
This incentive is contingent upon:
- The creation of up to 40 net new full-time jobs at a minimum average annual wage (AAW) of $74,386 (100% of Jefferson County) or 100% of the AAW of any county in Colorado the company decides to locate over 8 years.
- The maintenance of the net new jobs in Colorado for one full year before any credits become vested.
- The creation and maintenance of at least 20 net new jobs before any credits are issued.
Consideration
This project would support the state’s economic goals by supporting green manufacturing for a Colorado company that aligns with the governor's renewable energy goals within the manufacturing industry.
PROJECT NAME: Kiwi
Summary
The non-profit entity behind Project Kiwi is the national governing body for a major Olympic sport in the United States, overseeing six disciplines. Due to the nature of the company, further identification would jeopardize the company’s confidentiality.
The organization’s mission is to build a community and culture of health, safety, and excellence, where athletes can thrive in sport and life. The vision to be addressed is to secure a location where the organization can construct and operate a Training and Wellness Center (TWC) campus that will be the heart and hub of their sport in the USA. The selected community will help the organization further solidify its global leadership position in this sport and its disciplines and continue to holistically develop young athletes.
The Campus will be a full-service, high-performance, multi-use facility that can accommodate the training, and wellness needs of all competitive disciplines within the sport, as well as space for educational events, competitive opportunities, and administrative needs. The new campus would also include the organization’s headquarters operations within the city of Colorado Springs.
Jobs
This performance based incentive is expected to create up to 85 net new jobs in the state at an average annual wage of $97,235 which is 153% of the AAW in El Paso County. The company currently has roughly 60 employees, none of whom are in Colorado.
Incentive
$552,500 in a performance-based Strategic Fund job creation incentive over a 5-year period, 60 months, is requested from the EDC at $88,707 per net new job. The amount of this incentive as recommended above takes into account OEDIT staff’s analysis of the four factors identified in C.R.S. § 39-22-531 (3)(c).
This incentive is contingent upon:
- The creation of up to 85 net new permanent full-time jobs at a minimum average annual wage (AAW) of $88,707 (140% of the El Paso County average annual wage).
- Or a payout of $3,000/NNJ for the creation of up to 85 net new jobs if the average annual wage is at least $63,362 (100% of the El Paso County average annual wage at the end of the 5-year term).
- The maintenance of the net new jobs in Colorado for one full year before any grant payments are made.
- A $1:$1 local match of incentives by the City of Colorado Springs and UCCS and/or grants from other community partners that match the payout and term structure of the OEDIT incentives and will not result in the possibility of a clawback by the community partners and an undermatch of OEDIT’s payouts.
$1,000,000 in a performance-based Strategic Fund Initiative based on the potential sports tourism generated by the project (in addition to the job growth incentive above), over a 5-year period, 60 months. This will be paid out at $200,000 per year that the project is operated and maintained in the state. The amount of this incentive as recommended above takes into account OEDIT staff’s analysis of the four factors identified in C.R.S. § 39-22-531 (3)(c).
Additionally, OEDIT will consider additional provisions for the contract to be signed between the company behind Project Kiwi and the state, including but not limited to:
- The state funds are used for the development of the facilities
- Construction of the facilities is completed
- The non-profit supplies a sustainability plan and pro forma financial reports
- The non-profit runs and maintains operations at the project site for 6 years, or a prorated claw-back on all state incentives and grants will be required
Consideration
With one division of this sport’s competitive areas already residing in Colorado Springs, giving the city a leg up on the competition, this site search is for a consolidation of this organization’s divisions to a single location, so there is “retention play” to be considered with this incentive.
This project would support the state’s economic goals by situating the headquarters of a high-profile US sports organization in our state, which has the potential to both attract sports tourism and catalyze the interest of other similar organizations considering a relocation of their headquarters. This investment would also represent a successful return on investment of the state’s decision to financially support the City of Champions initiative for Colorado Springs. The City for Champions contemplated attracting organizations exactly like this in their application, stating “the addition of the ‘one and only’ United States Olympic Museum next to the indoor and outdoor venues of the Colorado Sports and Event Center, regional, national and world competitions will occur and America’s Olympic City will be realized and anchored in Colorado.”
PROJECT NAME: Beryllium
Summary
Project Beryllium became the fourth Refundable Tax Credit application approved by Colorado’s Economic Development Commission (EDC) on Thursday, November 21, 2024.
The company behind Project Beryllium is a renowned, global leader in innovative memory semiconductor solutions, whose products are used in a wide range of applications. Its Longmont facility is the company’s primary site for storage product development in the US and the products developed there are qualified and used by leading US storage, server, and cloud providers. The operations in Longmont allow the company to continually improve the speed and efficiency of its products, keeping it at the leading edge of the global memory market.
The project includes a local relocation and expansion. The relocation, within Longmont, will allow the company to substantially increase its electricity capacity. The expansion includes an additional 185,000 sq ft of space, with at least 60,000 square feet as new lab space. Together these changes will enable the company to greatly expand its concurrent research and product qualification testing projects as it seeks to triple its chip production capacity in the US. The company is in discussions with the CHIPS R&D Office to establish the Longmont facility, along with a few others, as a memory-based program under the National Semiconductor Technology Center.
The company expects to earn Enterprise Zone Investment, New Employee, and Research and Development Tax Credits totaling $8.8 million through the Longmont CHIPS Zone established February 15, 2024. In its application, the company requested this total from the Commission. After evaluation, OEDIT staff recommended and the EDC approved a total award amount of $6.5 million.