Economic development can be defined as any activity which assists in the inducement of commercial business endeavors.

Professional business developers promote & facilitate activities that will build wealth and bring jobs into an area. Thornton's Business Development Division works with companies outside of Thornton in an effort to relocate and/or expand their operations within our city. Business Development also works with companies within our community to retain and expand employment as well as nurture additional capital investment.

Everyone who has a need to operate in an economy that is healthy and growing is a stakeholder in Thornton's business development efforts. The community as a whole also benefits in that resources that increase the quality of life for our city. Public amenities, like recreation and senior centers, and infrastructure, like roads, used by residents are principally supported with income generated by businesses within our city.

Chances are, if you've noticed a "great" retail location, then lots of restaurant and store developers have noticed it as well. Developers, site selectors and business developers make their living by knowing the locations where businesses are likely to thrive.

The factors that will allow a particular business to thrive in a specific location vary greatly depending on the business and the location. A location, that (on the surface) seems to be "perfect" for a restaurant or store may have challenges that aren't easy to see. Business developers make a point to understand all of the issues that can make different businesses a success on a given property.

Ownership, site incompatibility, market strength, access, proximity to residential development and financial feasibility are just a few of the unseen factors that can make a business unworkable on a certain property. It takes time and a lot of diligence to develop a commercial project that will be viable in the long-term.

Absolutely.

Its an established economic phenomenon that "booms" set up "busts" and "busts" set up "booms." When the economy is in a lull, it's relatively easy to get the community to focus on efforts to get the economy to grow. When times are better, the focus is taken off the economy and without a continued effort to maintain the momentum -- the economy more quickly falls off again. Business development promises to secure a brighter future for a community, by encouraging steady, long-term growth in the economy and by minimizing "bust" periods.

Communities and economies are dynamic -- to simply pick a point and say, "Stop" is not only impractical it is virtually impossible.

As business development professionals, we are part of a city wide team that works closely with community planners, government officials and private industry leaders to ensure that the growth that is occurring is beneficial, quality growth for Thornton. Public services and infrastructure like roads, fire & police protection, schools, water and sewer systems are strongly dependent on commercial growth. Without a strong commercial tax base, these public services are burdened and the quality of life for residents is jeopardized.

The Business Development Division is well aware of the factors that would lead corporations to relocate and/or expand in Thornton. Over-development and a disregard for our quality of life would make our jobs even that much more difficult, so our team of professionals works extensively to protect our area's resources and helps to ensure that Thornton will be economically viable for the long-term future.

Absolutely not.

Like most economic developers, we believe that growth should pay for itself. Incentives offered to companies are most often not "handouts" -- they are usually temporary tax rebate measures that assist the companies in distributing the large, one-time financial burden of initial development out over a period of years. Moreover, almost all of Thornton's incentive plans are performance based -- they assist ONLY when companies produce successfully and provide concrete benefits to our community.

Simply because a company is looking at Thornton, or purchasing land in our community or even formally submitting plans for a project -- doesn't mean a completed project will be the result.

The nature of development is such that thousands of possible projects are explored, but only a fraction of them actually result in the project being completed. Just to determine if a certain project is feasible here, a company may invest in several phases of a comprehensive study of the area. Sometimes, these preliminary phases are announced, but the final project isn't built because it's determined that the project wouldn't work in the long run.

As a general rule, once construction begins, it is safe to assume that a project will soon be coming to Thornton. However, in the strictest sense, a project should only be considered "guaranteed" when it is actually completed.

Our ultimate goal is to help develop smart and sustainable business opportunities within the City of Thornton. That includes nourishing our existing businesses as well as attracting new projects to our area. Many times we're working with companies that are extremely savvy and as they are contemplating a multi-million dollar investment in our community they are also looking for every competitive advantage in the marketplace. If we were to let people know (even internally) which businesses were interested in our area -- we would be effectively eliminating their competitive advantage and they would simply pursue opportunities elsewhere.

There are many reasons why it might seem so long, but Thornton's development process is very comparable to other cities in the U.S. Quality commercial development simply takes time.

Consider that developers, the City, land owners and the community all have to come together before any development project can move forward. Most of us have had the experience of making a major purchase -- like buying a new home or a car. While there is that enthusiastic feeling of buying something important, there is also usually a curious sense of uncertainty as well.

Virtually no one is absolutely, 100% sure that their considered purchase will work out exactly as they had hoped. Nagging questions can wear away at the enthusiasm of making the purchase: Did I pay too much? What if I can't make the payments? Did I adequately consider all of the possible ways this purchase could work out in the long run?

Now, try to image those feelings if your purchase were worth several million dollars -- probably tens of millions of dollars. Wouldn't you want every assurance you could that the purchase would workout as you hope? That's the situation that faces most developers. They are often charged with making multi-million dollar decisions (usually for a group of other investors) and if they make a mistake, many people's livelihoods will be jeopardized.

Developers carefully weigh all of the possibilities before committing to a project. They check and review all of their studies before making a final decision. That process can take a great deal of time.

On the City's part, there is the responsibility of knowing that any development that is constructed will become an integral part of Thornton for at least 30 or 40 years. Our City's planners and leaders take this responsibility very seriously, knowing that the decisions they make will effect not only today's residents but the next generation of residents in Thornton as well. Every aspect, every detail of a proposed development is carefully considered by Thornton staff to ensure that the fabric of our city is constructed with a strict adherence to our shared community values. To thoroughly examine every development project as it progresses also takes time -- but considering what is at stake, most members of our team consider the process to be time well spent.

Commercial construction is unlike residential construction. While the need for new housing tends to rise steadily and expectedly with the growth in the population, there are a number of other factors that effect the commercial construction rate.

The capitalization of commercial projects works differently than in residential projects. The initial amount of funding needed for a commercial project is many times higher than for residential. Unlike residential projects that can see cash flows within a few months of building completion, the cash flow from a commercial project may take years before it returns back on the initial investment.

Commercial and residential construction rates rise and fall in different ways. Commercial projects are specifically developed to meet the service needs of a community for many years to come. So construction this year might meet the demand for the next few years and that can be a factor in commercial construction fluctuations on a year to year basis. Commercial construction professionals also tend to look at project cycles in terms of several years rather than on a year to year basis, so annual fluctuations in commercial construction are to be expected.

If an engineer moves to the area, she has to buy her groceries locally. Her dollars help to sustain local area businesses. Economic developers quantify the impact of bringing a job into an area by using a multiplier. A simple multiplier would be two (2). That is, for every job brought to the area, the area creates or retains two other jobs. Multipliers vary based on the type of job recruited and the ability of the local economy to absorb the additional demand. Since economic developers are interested in quality growth, they tend to focus their efforts on recruiting high paying jobs with high multipliers. These types of jobs pay even greater dividends to the community.

Simply put, it means that the person who owns or controls a piece of property has the final determination about what develops on that property.

A parcel of land can be zoned for commercial development; the Business Development Division can attract a commercial user's interest in the parcel; the City can demonstrate a variety of advantages for the user to develop the parcel; and the community can be whole-heartedly in favor of the development -- but without the land owner's agreement -- the project simply does not move forward.

The Business Development Division works continuously with land owners, developers and businesses in order to advance projects that are in the long-term best interests of Thornton. In fact, one of the most important functions of our office is to keep all parties negotiating and moving toward the same goal. It can often be a labor-intensive balancing act, because all concerned parties will express they want the same thing -- a successful project -- yet, it is often the case that the parties involved will have a widely differing opinion as to how each should contribute to the project's eventual success.

It is frequently up to Business Development to understand each point of view, help communicate those view points and represent the interests of the City as well. Under most circumstances, if a land owner chooses to halt a potential development project -- for whatever reason -- there is little the City can do other than to have the Business Development Division continue to encourage negotiations.

The notable exception to this is if the property lies within an urban renewal area. The urban renewal designation gives the City more tools to keep development projects moving forward. The designation grants the City the ability to act in the larger, best interests of the community and can assist in compelling land owners to negotiate a deal that benefits everyone in the long run.

Each year the City of Thornton tracks the top 50 private employment generators and the top 50 sales tax generators in Thornton. for the latest charts go to Download Publications link in the Related Links column to the right. Once on the Publications page click onto the Employment Chart or Sales Tax Generator Chart.

Employment and sales tax generation are two critical aspects that businesses provide to the Thornton community because retail sales and the revenues that sales taxes generate are a significant part of how Thornton provides municipal services to residents. 

Providing a variety of employment opportunities in Thornton is important to the City of Thornton. People want and need access to the type of employment that works for them, whether full-time, part-time, skilled or unskilled. If a variety of jobs are readily available in the community, then they all help to stimulate the local economy.

Sales tax is a vital revenue streams for the City.  It helps to make available resources needed to supply public safety - police and fire protection.  Sales tax also helps provide roads, parks, recreation, environmental services and all of the other municipal services that make Thornton an excellent place to live.

To uphold confidentially policies, the City of Thornton does not publicly disclose specific and proprietary information regarding employment, sales and sales tax collection for individual businesses.