Bad News - Massive blow to Colorado's Green Economy

The bad news came out today- is the single largest blow to Colorado's "Green energy economy".

And if you think I'm somehow happy about this- you'd be wrong. I welcomed the plans of a world class private sector alternative energy research and development facility coming to the Denver area. The campus would have resulted in the creation of 7,000+ jobs.

I can now proclaim that Ex Gov. Ritter's green economy plans for Colorado are all but dead.

Phillips 66 to sell 432-acre campus in Louisville
This was the old Storage Tek campus- and later Sun Microsystems Inc property

A 432-acre property in Louisville that was intended to house a "world-class" research and training campus -- a facility heralded for its potential to bring thousands of jobs and an economic boom -- is back on the market.

"The uses that ConocoPhillips originally envisioned for this site don't really fit into Phillips 66's long-term plans at this time," Muckle said.

Big bets

Although projections were made that the campus would contribute about $1.5 million annually to the city coffers, the city never assumed any revenue nor made modifications to its budget, he said.

Others in the private sector, however, bet big on the potential boon.

ConocoPhillips' expected arrival spurred a flurry of commercial activity in the areas surrounding the campus. Hotels and multifamily housing projects were built in anticipation that the project would generate patrons, residents and revenues.

Etkin Johnson Group's website for the Broomfield Business Center -- a 74.3-acre mixed-use development near the Northwest Parkway -- touts the planned arrival of its neighbor: "The site is located just east of the ConocoPhillips Global Training and Technology Center that is scheduled to open in late 2015."

Etkin Johnson moved forward on building 330 rental units after Phillips 66 took over the site and the campus' future was put in question, said Kevin Standbridge, Broomfield's deputy city and county manager. An active regional economy, he added, also appears to be bolstering interest in the city's commercial sector, notably the nearby Flatiron Marketplace.

The region's residential real estate market was put into a "frenzy" when ConocoPhillips was announced as the buyer, said Rick Staufer, Realtor and co-owner of Staufer Team Real Estate in Louisville. Prices jumped but since have settled down to realistic levels, he said.

Louisville city officials said Phillips 66 has not yet listed the property but "plans to do so shortly."

Read more: Phillips 66 to sell 432-acre campus in Louisville - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_21792880#ixzz29f1hbRAv

It's probably sitting on 100 years of natural gas... :Whistle

That is indeed very bad news - we could have used the jobs. Makes me wonder if C/P didn't do it on purpose to keep oil dominant.

cydl wrote: That is indeed very bad news - we could have used the jobs. Makes me wonder if C/P didn't do it on purpose to keep oil dominant.

If Conoco Phillips knows about peak oil, don't you think they would be doing all they can to invest in green energy development?

And just for public relations, showing million spend on green energy development can make petrol companies look much nicer to the public.

British Petroleum built our solar panels.

We already have NREL and CU/CSU, what do we need another research facility for? What were they going to do?