Denver rolls out $100M jobs strategy
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Mayor Mike Johnston announced a $100 million push to create 10,000 jobs over the next three years while stepping up recruit efforts to woo major employers.
Why it matters: Denver is trying to sharpen its economic edge as job growth cools, Colorado loses companies to rival states and the state just dropped from 11th to 25th in CNBC's annual best states for business ranking.
Driving the news: During a press conference Thursday, Johnston unveiled the Denver Jobs Agenda, a four-part plan that includes:
- $6 million to help entrepreneurs start businesses
- $10.5 million in loans for existing small businesses
- $40 million to recruit business, jobs and employees downtown
- $45 million for workforce training and career placement
What they're saying: Asked by Axios Denver whether the city is recruiting companies comparable to Palantir — Colorado's most valuable firm before relocating its headquarters to Miami — Johnston said the city has several marquee targets.
- "We do have a couple moonshots, but I couldn't tell you because then their board of directors would know," he quipped.
Follow the money: The initiative is backed primarily by federal workforce funding, state money, grants, the Downtown Denver Development Authority, city special revenue funds and matching dollars from Colorado Enterprise Fund.
- Johnston said "almost zero" — roughly $1 million — of the initiative relies on Denver's strained general fund.
What we're watching: The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce's economic development arm is working with 52 companies considering the region, CEO J.J. Ament told reporters.
- Those companies represent more than 12,000 potential jobs and $12 billion in capital investment, he said.
- "When we create incentives and … provide the ability to deliver a talented and skilled workforce, it helps us close on those prospects," Ament said.
The bottom line: The success of the first-term mayor's economic bet hinges on whether Denver can convert incentives — and Johnston's undisclosed "moonshot" recruitment efforts — into the 10,000 jobs he's promising.