City Council Members Dan Corson and Rich Lopez Economic Review
Author: Julie Gordon
Boulder's economy is strong, but the city's economic dominance in Boulder County is eroding as nearby cities such as Broomfield continue to grow, city councilors Rich Lopez and Dan Corson said at Boulder Tomorrow's last luncheon of the year on Nov. 30.
In the future, Boulder will have to share a central economic role with Broomfield, Lopez said. Broomfield's economy has spurred due in large part to the development of Interlocken Business Park and the opening of FlatIron Crossing Mall.
Lopez and Corson, who chair the city's economic sustainability committee, shared the Economic Research Association's findings on Boulder's economy. The city hired the ERA to study Boulder's economy base and make recommendations about its economic situation.
Even though more and more small firms are starting to call Boulder home, Boulder's economy is still dominated by larger firms and institutions, the study found. Boulder can still grow economically and fiscally in the future even if its physical growth subsides in the future by supporting by high-value added industries and sectors, according to the study.
Boulder's growth rate is .2 percent compared to 2.4 percent for the county as a whole, the study revealed.
In addition, the study found that many Boulder residents do not work in Boulder, and many of the people who are employed in Boulder do not live in the city. The study also found that Boulder's average annual wage rate, at $39,072.99 is less than the average wage rate in Broomfield, Louisville and Superior.
Crossroads Mall was a big part of the ERA study. Lopez and Corson discussed five alternative scenarios for Crossroads, including a "mixed use" scenario under which the shopping mall would be turned into a combination of retail space, offices and housing and would also have a civic/community use such as a conference center. Lopez said the city council is scheduled to discuss possible scenarios for Crossroads at its Dec. 12 meeting.
The city's retail sales tax for the months of August and September was up 7.61 percent compared with the same two months last year, Corson said.
Lopez and Corson discussed affordable housing, since it is intertwined with the local economy. "Many of the people who work in Boulder cannot afford to live in Boulder," Lopez said. "As affordable housing for workers and affordable industrial and office space become more scarce in Boulder. As it approaches build-out, more and more firms will choose other locations in the region, such as Broomfield."
The issue of affordable housing is going to increasingly become an economic sustainability issue, one person in the audience said.
Members of the audience were concerned that the issue to raise more money for affordable housing on the ballot in the November general election didn't pass. The issue was defeated by a very narrow margin. Lopez said that even though the affordable housing issue didn't pass, "it's not the end of affordable housing programs in Boulder."
Another member of the audience also expressed a desire for the city to appoint an economic development director.
Peggy Wren, who is a member of the economic sustainability committee that Lopez and Corson share, said she attended the meeting to gain a better understanding of what the business community thinks about the city's economic issues and economic future. "What I was hoping for was a lot of input about what they see as the city's role in economic development," Wren said. "Boulder Tomorrow members are among the preeminent authorities on Boulder's economy."
Boulder Tomorrow's next luncheon will be Jan. 25, again at the Angel Pines Country Club, 5706 Arapahoe Avenue, from noon to 1:30 p.m. CU Chancellor Richard Byyny and city manager Ron Secrist will discuss CU and the city moving forward. Boulder Tomorrow hopes to feature Samuel Addoms, CEO of Frontier Airlines, at its March luncheon.
