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Larimer County panel credits targeted outreach for surge in enterprise-zone participation and local business wins
Summary
Panelists from Larimer County, Fort Collins, Loveland, Wellington and Estes Park said enterprise-zone outreach and coordinated regional programs helped boost business certifications and attract employers, citing new corporate headquarters and retail projects.
Adam Crow, a Larimer County economic and workforce development staffer, convened an online panel of local economic developers to summarize recent business wins and outreach efforts across Northern Colorado.
Janine Leadingham, associate director of economic and workforce development for Larimer County, said the county recently completed an enterprise-zone redesignation and then intensified outreach. "We have, I would say, well over double the number of businesses across the county that are, pre certifying for those," she said, crediting municipal partners for redrawing zone boundaries and for marketing tax-credit availability.
Marcy Willard, director of economic development for the city of Loveland, described attraction successes that followed outreach and targeted recruitment. "We've gotten... an aerospace company as part of that attraction. We're bringing in 85 primary jobs," she said, and also noted retail activity including interest from Costco and other anchors.
Estes Park’s Colleen DePasquale highlighted a local business-education program called BASE, saying, "It's about 75 graduates," and noting a May cohort of 17 people and 13 businesses that completed the curriculum in areas such as finance and marketing.
Panelists attributed the jump in enterprise-zone certifications to proactive, person-to-person campaigns. Willard described door-to-door business visits and lunch-and-learn sessions as part of "a very targeted plan" to increase participation.
The panel also described partnerships with higher-education and workforce organizations to sustain these gains. Janine and others said pre-certification and certification for tax credits are now part of routine outreach to businesses, particularly to help smaller firms access incentives they previously did not use.
The meeting included practical next steps for businesses: contact municipal economic-development offices or county staff early, consult online resources, and watch for local programs and rebate assessments offered through partners such as NoCo BizConnect.
The panel closed with organizers posting resource links in the chat and leaving time for follow-up questions.
