Update: Aerospace Park A Real ACE for Colorado

My instincts tell me that if the Aerospace Clean Energy (ACE) research and manufacturing park, the public private partnership between NASA, and the Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology "takes off" (pun intended) this would be one of the biggest economic development events ever to occur in Colorado. There will be many challenges along the way and this will be a fascinating story to watch unfold.

• The indispensable John Rebchook has an interesting update in a recent blog entry on the ACE Manufacturing and Innovation Park.

• The Denver Post also had a recent article about the locations under consideration by the site selection team.

HOK Return a Positive Indicator

This tid bit from the Denver Post seems to augur a very positive economic development trend

"St. Louis-based HOK is returning to Denver after closing its office here during the economic downturn of the 1980s. It's looking for office space downtown for a number of its core practice areas, including aviation and transportation; science and technology; and health care, said Rebecca Nolan, senior vice president and managing principal of the firm.

'We're very high on Denver and the Front Range and all the things that are happening there,' Nolan said. Companies that the firm works with on corporate accounts are expressing an interest in Denver, she said.

Nolan declined to name those considering opening offices here, saying only that they range from large corporations to professional and financial-services companies.

'Clearly, with the kind of international corporations that are investing in Denver, it would suggest that there is long-term confidence in the quality of the corporate environment,' Nolan said. 'We absolutely see it and feel it.' ''

One thing which left me a bit puzzled is according to the firm's web site they presently do have an office at 2190 East 17th Avenue in Denver which is one of their 25 regional offices around the world. I am thinking this must be a small skeleton office.