The Colorado Springs City Council on Monday gave informal support to a $24,000 financial incentive request for an unidentified Colorado Springs-based aerospace and defense engineering company that is considering an expansion that would add about 620 well-paying jobs to the community over the next eight years.
Bob Cope, the city’s economic development officer, presented “Project Bullseye” plans to council during a business meeting, recommending that council approve a resolution in August authorizing a 10-year economic development agreement between the city and the joint-stock women-owned business headquartered in Colorado Springs.
The “small, fast-growing company” plans to spend $3.4 million over 10 years to expand in Colorado Springs, one of at least three locations the company is considering, Cope said.
The company plans to redevelop an existing commercial location, mostly offices, and will add secure facilities in the future, he said.
If the board approves the deal next month, it would create 620 well-paying jobs over eight years, he said, with an estimated average annual salary of between $153,125 and $160,484, according to figures Cope and state officials have shared since Thursday. That’s more than double the current average annual salary in El Paso County, Cope said.
“These are very well paying jobs,” he said.
An additional 1,053 jobs could be created indirectly or through induced demand over the proposed duration of the 10-year agreement, bringing the total new permanent jobs to 1,673. Fifteen additional jobs in the construction sector could also be created under the agreement, Cope said.
The City of Colorado Springs is reportedly offering up to $24,000 in incentives for the project. This includes a $14,000 sales and use tax rebate on the company’s purchase of personal business property such as machinery, equipment, furniture and fixtures; and a $10,000 rebate on its purchase of building materials, according to a staff presentation.
Cope estimated the deal would grow the local economy by about $843 million over 10 years and generate, after incentives, about $9 million in new revenue for the city during that time.
The company is already headquartered in Colorado Springs; if its current operations stayed here and expanded locally, Cope said over the proposed 10-year deal, it would create a combined 2,250 permanent jobs, boost the local economy by $1.4 billion, and generate about $13.4 million in new revenue for the city.
The Colorado Economic Development Commission on Thursday approved up to $7,499,388 in financial incentives for the Bullseye project.
If the Bullseye project develops in the Springs area, it will be the latest in a series of new local economic development efforts.
On Monday, Swiss company Meyer Burger, which makes solar cells and solar modules, announced plans to build a manufacturing plant in Colorado Springs. The company plans to create more than 350 jobs in the region. Last week, the state Economic Development Commission also approved the offer of financial incentives of up to $4.9 million for the eight-year project.
High-tech makers Entegris and Microchip Technology also announced plans to expand their existing Colorado Springs operations in recent months, creating more than 1,000 jobs and making combined investments of nearly $1.5 billion. Zivaro, a Denver-based information and technology company, also announced that it will bring more than 300 jobs to Colorado Springs.
City council could vote on a resolution approving an economic development agreement between the city and Project Bullseye at the next regular council meeting on Aug. 8, Cope said Monday.
