This study examines the projected economic impacts to the future regional and statewide economies of the bioscience, health care, education and related activities being developed on the Fitzsimons site in Aurora. Those contributions include jobs and income, investments in human and physical capital, support for other businesses through purchases of goods and services, and tax revenues accruing to the state and local governments. Moreover, the benefits of the bioscience firms and health care delivery and education institutions at Fitzsimons will extend beyond the quantified economic measures. Such intangible benefits include the economic stimulus created by spin-off enterprises elsewhere in Colorado, contributions to community and individual quality-of-life through improved health care, the training of physicians and other health care practitioners, and research into disease prevention, management and treatment. Such benefits are not readily quantified and are thus described in qualitative terms.

The analysis examines the projected economic impacts associated with the Fitzsimons redevelopment project. That project includes future bioscience research, development, product testing, commercialization and early stage production, the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, University of Colorado Hospital, The Children’s Hospital and other related facilities that will locate at the Fitzsimons site. The current study relies on data supplied by the key institutional partners engaged in the Fitzsimons redevelopment project regarding current and future operations and the IMPLAN regional economic model. Furthermore, the study examines the future impacts from an aggregate perspective. Impacts are not differentiated by major institution, nor does it attempt to differentiate between those that are transfers from other locations, the expansion of existing programs facilitated by the move, and those which represent completely new additions to the regional and statewide economies. The key development parameters and findings with respect to the economic impacts of the Fitzsimons redevelopment project are summarized in the pages to follow.

Anticipated development at Fitzsimons

  • The Fitzsimons site encompasses approximately 578 developable acres of land. Development control of the site is shared by the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority, the University of Colorado and the City of Aurora.
  • Development plans at Fitzsimons includes reuse of some existing buildings and construction of new health care, educational, and research facilities. Residential and commercial development is also anticipated on a portion of the site.
  • The site’s maximum development capacity is in excess of 15 million gross square feet of building space, plus associated structured parking. Current development plans identified by the institutional partners call for reuse and construction of about 13.6 million square feet of building space and parking garages for more than 27,000 vehicles. This study addresses the economic contributions associated with the 13.6 million square feet of planned space and parking.
  • About 7.0 million square feet of the total building space is expected to be complete by 2010, with the remaining 6.6 million square feet developed in response to private sector demand for bioscience research facilities and public sector demand for health care delivery, research and health care education.
  • Completion of the anticipated Fitzsimons building program will entail a capital investment of nearly $4.0 billion in current dollars. Of that total, about $3.0 billion represents investments in “bricks and mortar” for utility infrastructure, parking facilities and buildings. The remainder will be for services and fees, such as, architectural design and legal fees, and furnishings and equipment.

Long-term economic impacts
The employment base at Fitzsimons will rise dramatically as renovations and new buildings are completed and existing programs and operations relocate. The economic impacts will continue to rise over time as new programs are initiated and development of the Bioscience Park increases.

  • By 2010, more than 34,800 jobs will be directly and indirectly supported by the Fitzsimons redevelopment project.
  • At full development, Fitzsimons will support more than 66,800 jobs in Colorado, about 32,200 direct, on-site and another 34,700 jobs elsewhere in the metropolitan area and the state. The latter category includes jobs supported indirectly by the purchases of goods and services by the establishments located at Fitzsimons and the households deriving income from those establishments.
  • Economic activities occurring at Fitzsimons will support annual output across Colorado totaling $3.1 billion by 2010 and $6.3 billion when full development is achieved.
  • Total labor income in the state from the long-term jobs located at Fitzsimons will reach $1.17 billion per year by 2010 and $2.45 billion at full development.
  • Vendors and suppliers serving business and government, as well as retail and service establishments catering to consumer markets, will reap benefits from the economic stimulus provided by the Fitzsimons project.
  • Significant tax revenues will accrue to state and local governments as a result of the Fitzsimons development. State corporate and personal income, sales taxes and motor vehicle registration fees will total $46.7 million per year in 2010 and $93.8 million annually at build out. Statewide, local sales and use taxes supported by Fitzsimons will total $21.7 million per year in 2010 and $40.5 million per year at build out.
  • Over time, the Fitzsimons project will become a major source of local tax revenue. At full development, on-site development and activity will generate an estimated $32.5 million in annual tax sales and property tax revenues. Initially most of these revenues will accrue to the tax increment financing district established to finance infrastructure improvements required to help bring the redevelopment project to reality and realize the economic development opportunities and benefits afforded. Once the district’s financial obligations are met, the revenues will flow to the City of Aurora, Aurora School District 28J and Adams County.
  • The long-term economic impacts outlined above do not include gains due to future off-site commercialization stemming from research conducted at Fitzsimons. While such commercialization is likely, its timing and magnitude are too speculative to include in this report.

Construction-related impacts

  • In addition to the long-term economic gains, the on-site construction and development activities at Fitzsimons thru 2010 will directly support an estimated 14,420 job-years of construction employment. These jobs will support another 17,040 jobs elsewhere throughout the state.
  • On-site construction will support another 36,640 job-years of employment beyond 2010–16,950 direct jobs and 19,690 jobs supported indirectly by the circulation of expenditures by suppliers, contractors and households associated with the construction.
  • Future development activities at Fitzsimons will generate total economic activity of more than $7.2 billion in Colorado. Of that amount, nearly $2.8 billion will accrue as income to entrepreneurs, employees, business owners and property owners.
  • The economic activity associated with the Fitzsimons redevelopment will generate significant public sector revenues as well. Nearly $107 million in corporate and personal income taxes, sales taxes and motor vehicle registration fees will accrue to the Colorado state treasury by the completion of the project. Of that total, $49.6 million will accrue by 2010.
  • An estimated $67.9 million in local sales and use tax will be generated over time, much of that accruing to the city of Aurora.

Other benefits

  • Developing a major research and education effort can have widespread economic impacts beyond those captured in an economic model. For example the 7,000+ acre Research Triangle Park (RTP) in North Carolina is widely credited with transforming the state’s economy and image from a traditional, rural manufacturing area to a progressive, technology-driven, quality-lifestyle environment.
  • At full development, Fitzsimons will support nearly as much total floor space as presently exists at RTP. And while Fitzsimons will host a diversified mix of research, health care and education uses which are less intensive in terms of space utilization than the primarily research and office functions at RTP, on-site employment at Fitzsimons will nevertheless reach about 65 percent of the on-site jobs at RTP today.
  • The RTP and other co-located major research and education facilities have demonstrated the added long-term economic development and diversification gains that occur as industries cluster and achieve a degree of critical mass. Such gains include serving as magnets to attract yet other firms
    seeking to capitalize on the proximity to similar firms, the positive influences of such clustering on labor force development and recruiting, and the boost in business formation in other nearby communities as new startups, spin-offs and large-scale production facilities locate elsewhere in the
    surrounding region.
  • Medical advances developed at Fitzsimons will contribute to improved quality of life and health care for people the world over. As documented by the Lasker Foundation, such benefits have real, tangible value in terms of better health, greater life expectancies, and lower health care outlays. Coloradoans stand to realize those benefits in a more direct and timely manner.
  • Much of the operating income supporting the research and health care entities located at Fitzsimons will come from outside the state. Such sources also include funded research from the federal government, research foundations and private sector clients. Other sources of such income include out-of-state patients receiving treatment at Fitzsimons that is unavailable in their own community and much of the financing and sale revenues of bioscience firms located in the bioscience park. The net inflow of wealth from these sources, in particular the funded research, will strengthen the state’s economy.
  • The influx of new jobs will provide enhanced employment opportunities for area residents. The associated housing needs and the business and consumer expenditure potentials associated with Fitzsimons will provide a vital stimulus for new capital investment, enhancing nearby property values and local government’s fiscal position.