By Kathy McIntyre, Editor
The resident population of Commerce City is 45,913 according to the U.S. Census Bureau and that is a fact, but what about the businesses and jobs available in the city.
In 2007 the city of Commerce City published a report entitled “City of Commerce City 10 Largest Primary Employers”. Recently the city updated those same employers for the Gateway News as well as giving us a new updated list of employers.
Below see the numbers from 2007 as well as the new updated 2010 numbers given to the Gateway News from the city.
Fedex Freight East, Inc. Employees in 2007 – 475 and in 2010 – 341: LOSS OF 134
Sara Lee Bakery Group Employees in 2007 – 421 and in 2010 – 149: LOSS OF 272
Tri-County Health Dept. Employees in 2007 – 275 and in 2010 no longer here: LOSS OF 275
Northern Pipeline Construction Employees in 2007 – 300 and in 2010 – 191: LOSS OF 109
Suncor Energy*
*(Purchased Valero Oil and acquired their employees) Employees in 2007 – 282 and in 2010 – 410: NO GAIN OR LOSS as Valero Oil was already located in Commerce City and employees just changed from being Valero Oil employees to Suncor employees
Shamrock Foods Company (same as United Food Service, Inc.) Employees in 2007 – 588 and in 2010 – 569: LOSS OF 19
United Parcel Service Employees in 2007 – 2,600 and in 2010 – 2,487: LOSS OF 113
Douglass Roofing Company Employees in 2007 – 250 and in 2010 – 288: GAIN OF 38
Beco, Inc. Employees in 2007 – 250 and in 2010 – 184: LOSS OF 66
Brannan Sand and Gravel Employees in 2007 – 350 and in 2010 – 15: LOSS OF 335
The newest list of top 10 employers in Commerce City also includes the following (we do not have numbers from 2007 from any of these as they were not on the city’s top 10 list in 2007).
Fedex Ground Package System Inc. with 767 employees
Waste Management of Colorado Inc. with 272 employees
DPI Specialty Foods Rocky Mountain with 219 employees
Old Dominion Freight Lines with 219 employees
CNF Inc. with 186 employees
(All businesses are established businesses in Commerce City)
In a press release from the city of Commerce City dated February 14, 2011, Commerce City manager Flannery was quoted as saying that the city’s incentive program brought more than 400 jobs to the city over a six-month period. (No details were released from Flannery about the 400 jobs.) Yet when we asked the city for a list of recently closed businesses during the last few months, we were told “No, we do not have a list” (of closed businesses). And according to the data above (all obtained from the city of Commerce City) there have been 1,285 jobs lost since 2007.
Several businesses that have recently closed include the Mercury Car Wash in Belle Creek, Curves at 104th and Chambers Road, Mugsy’s Coffee Shop in Derby, and Checkers Auto in Reunion Village. How many jobs were lost when these businesses closed? This begs the question, if the city is not keeping track of the loss of jobs and businesses closed, how can they say there are any gains? What parameters is the city using to ascertain if the incentive program is working?
2007 Commerce City published report entitled “City of Commerce City 10 Largest Primary Employers” CLICK HERE
Prairie Gateway re-branded to Victory Crossing {Commerce City}
Commerce City "We need to be sure that we are not left behind in ED..."
Will we ever see Development @ the Prairie Gateway site in Commerce City, CO??? It has been years since the Commerce City Civic Center and Rapids stadium have been built and still no economic development. I guess patience is really a virtue.
