Losing the hard-fought battle to save the old Fitzsimons Army post in the mid-1990s turned out to be a boon for the state economy.
Back in 1995, when the 578-acre base was targeted for closure, Aurora planners estimated that Fitzsimons accounted for $328 million in local economic activity and 2,904 jobs.
The numbers are much bigger these days. In 2008, activities at the Fitzsimons site pumped $3.5 billion into the state's economy, generating $1.4 billion in personal income, according to a report on the campus' economic contributions. Not counting construction workers, there were more than 15,900 employees on the campus, mostly in health care delivery and education.
The Fitzsimons Life Sciences District and Anschutz Medical Campus has emerged as an economic bright spot in the area, bringing advanced health care and research facilities to the region, garnering national attention, and providing an economic engine that is expected to employ nearly 45,000 people when it is fully developed.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Fitzsimons: From vacant Army post to medical promised land - The Denver Post
Author: Margaret Jackson
