Economic Development

From: Tom Clark
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 5:32 PM
To: Joe Wilson
Subject: Golden Run

 

Dear Mayor Wilson,

 

For the last several years I have been watching the progress on the Golden Run development in Erie.  I think my last letter to the Trustees was written about eight years ago.  At that time I was encouraging members of the Town board to partner with Aaron Harber on this exciting project.  Back in 2005 a number of other suburban developments, featuring more urban densities, had sprung up around the region.  Indian Peaks was a pioneer for the effort with neighborhoods that resembled tightly knit neighborhoods in other parts of the country.  Bradburn in Westminster came later and is now a fully fledged urban-style neighborhood with schools, event centers and a successful appropriate retail/office component.

 

Golden Run is the next generation, combining denser development with a significant economic development component.  As Erie matures into an economic center in the northern part of the metro region, the Golden Run project creates a “locus of economic activity” – a nerdy economist term for an economic activity center.  These more urban neighborhoods become a sense of “place” and a gathering point for community activity and business creation.  In many respects they enhance the community’s brand and typically result in synergies among the businesses to create new ideas and services.  All this activity creates tax revenue for the Town and offers residential options not presently available for prospective residents.

 

I am particularly impressed with the prospect of one gigabyte broadband service as part of the master plan.  While this seems, at first glance, to be more internet speed than a household needs, it can serve as a game-changing incentive for companies who need to send and receive massive amounts of data.  With some metropolitan areas exploring the development of 20 gigabyte speeds to connect major research laboratories and universities, the vision of providing these speeds in Erie can truly serve as a competitive advantage for the Town in its economic development efforts.

 

I encourage you to continue your development process with Golden Run.  I believe it will be one of the most exciting developments for our State.

 

Sincerely,


 




Tom Clark

CEO

Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation

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A letter of support from the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation

Tom Clark
Chief Executive Officer, Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation
Executive Vice President, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce


Tom Clark is Chief Executive Officer of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and the Executive Vice President of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. He has more than 30 years of economic development experience at the state, regional, county and city levels. Tom's career spans four decades from Director of Commercial and Industrial Development for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, through positions with the Fort Collins, Colorado Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Denver Corporation, the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, the Jefferson Economic Council, and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. He holds bachelors degrees in speech and psychology from Minnesota State University and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Illinois. Tom was the founder and first president of the Metro Denver Network, the Metro Denver region's first economic development program, for which he received the Arthur D. Little Award for Excellence in Economic Development. He was chosen as one of the nation's top economic development professionals by the Council on Urban Economic Development.