Denver development groups puts out welcome mat with Web site

March 12, 2004

At 8 a.m. today, Tom Clark will officially launch a new Web site that ultimately could be a crucial step in bringing thousands of jobs to the metro area.

Several hundred business and civic leaders are expected to attend the launch at the Brown Palace for the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.’s Web page, http://www.Metrodenveredc.org.

By John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News

http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/real_estate/article/0,1299,DRMN_414_2723276,00.html

"The cool thing about this, is that everything is based on research," Clark, executive vice president of the nonprofit group, said Tuesday. Clark said one thing he dislikes about many Web pages is the difficulty in finding phone numbers, so he made sure his group’s number is prominently displayed.

Matt Szuhaj, a site selector who represents many Fortune 100 companies when they look into relocating or expanding, was impressed by the Web site when he received a sneak preview a week ago.

"I did get quite a thorough tour of it, and my initial reaction, and my reaction upon reflection, is that they’ve really done their homework," said Szuhaj, who works out of the San Francisco office of -Deloitte & Touche LLP. "It’s as good as any Web page I’ve ever seen."

One thing the site – which cost $88,000 to design – does is make "apple-to-apple" comparisons easy, which is often not the case, he said.

It also is one of the most user- friendly Web pages he’s ever seen. He especially likes the ability to launch a search on any subject from any page. Also, it’s not just "chamber of commerce stuff," he said.

"There is no perfect place; every metro area has challenges," Szuhaj said. "They have a whole section on white papers that very clearly delineate the problems (of the metro area) and how they are dealing with them."

The Web page was developed by Ben Wright, principal of Denver- based ccintellect. It has 10 times as much information as a typical economic development group’s Web page, he said.

"It’s kind of like a drug for data junkies," said Wright, the former chief economist for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

He said it will answer any question a Fortune 100 company would need, as well as an individual in human resources, for example, who wants to move here.

John Lay, president of the Southeast Business Partnership, said a sophisticated Web page is needed.

"Ten years ago, we were competing against Albuquerque, Boise (Idaho) and Salt Lake City," Lay said. "Today, we’re competing against cities like San Jose (Calif.), Austin (Texas) and Seattle."