People that help companies find the right location for their next big move descended on Denver this week — and took plenty of notes.

The 2023 Metro Denver Site Selection Conference on Friday, hosted by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, brought a panel of site selectors in to tour the local region — Denver, its suburbs and further along the Front Range — and then offer “their candid and unbiased observations” about the area’s strengths, how it can improve, and how it can stay competitive.

J.J. Ament, president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, said a common theme in the panel discussion was “talent, talent, talent, talent” — or, more precisely, how to recruit and retain a robust labor pool that will keep giving Denver a competitive edge.

When it comes to building the workforce and economy, Denver is not only up against other major metropolitan areas, but other states and countries, as well, Ament said.

The task is top of mind for local and state leaders amid workforce challenges. Metropolitan State University of Denver President Janine Davidson told attendees the school sees its mission as helping to solve “a very big problem.” Colorado has two job openings for every worker, she said, adding that 75% of those jobs require some level of higher education.

Related to building the talent pool, panelists also stressed the need to provide a “quality of place and space,” Ament observed. How can, he asked, the metro Denver region provide the local workforce with an affordable place to live that is close to their work and in a thriving area?

The region is “extremely attractive” to a younger demographic, said Courtney Dunbar, Burns & McDonnell’s director of site selection. Understanding that people want to be near Denver, the region should keep pushing on its initiatives to make sure that “homeownership can be a possibility,” Dunbar said. 

Corey Kingsland, a site selector and civil engineering section manager at Burns & McDonnell, called a new law, House Bill 23-1189, “a huge attractor” that the region can market to young families as a recruiting tool.

The 2023 law created a state income tax credit for employers that provide employees with financial support to buy a house, such as for a down payment or closing costs.

Beyond housing, other supports and resources for families play a key role in making an area attractive, Kingsland said.

“A big thing especially for us millennials in the room that have young families — it’s that access to childcare,” he said, encouraging incentivizing companies to help employees attain childcare.

“So that both parents can work. Especially when you have these labor shortages that we are experiencing, you are only getting 50% of your pool of available people. Because you have two kids and you don’t want to pay $4,000 a month for childcare,” Kingsland said.

As the conversation broached the future of office space and commercial real estate in troubled downtowns, Bob Westover, a senior vice president at the commercial real estate and investment management company Colliers International, suggested one alternative use for converted space could be daycare options, the appeal being childcare “next to where mom and dad work.”

Newmark’s Global Strategy Director Carlos Sánchez highlighted other tactics to reach untapped labor pools, discussing companies that took steps to reduce language barriers and provide Spanish translations to reach a wider range of talent.

Dunbar praised the resources Denver offers to high school graduates, such as “fantastic” community colleges, four-year universities and technical training programs. That’s helping the region keep its “homegrown” talent, while recruiting out-of-state students too, she said.

The best long-term strategy for Denver to keep recruiting and retaining that talent, she said, is to embrace newcomers.

“Communities that have a really strong and growing and thriving economy, again those younger millennial families coming in, are ones where the community is super open to new people coming in,” Dunbar said. “The neighbors want to hang out. They want to get their kids together and play. They all want to come out and meet new friends. My question rhetorically to you guys is, ‘Is that your neighborhood?’”