El Paso County is an attractive place to do business, and companies are taking note.

The county led the state in the number of companies considering expanding to the region last fiscal year. And it is not the first time.

In total, 12 companies, some of which remain unnamed, received job growth incentive tax credits from the state’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). Although not every company chose to move to Colorado Springs, city and county leadership were not discouraged.

“Leading the state once again shows that El Paso County is where innovation meets opportunity,” Commissioner Carrie Geitner, chair of the El Paso County commissioners, said in a Monday news release. “We continue to prove that this is the place where businesses can innovate, grow and thrive.”

Over the fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30, OEDIT awarded 35 projects statewide. The lion’s share, more than one-third, came to the Pikes Peak region.

Of the 12 companies, five have since selected Colorado Springs, promising to create more than 170 jobs in the region.

The five announced companies are:

• Digantara, 61 new jobs, $35 million capital investment.
• Formstack LLC, 50 new jobs.
• Swisspod, 20 new jobs.
• Okika Devices, 20 new jobs.
• Desert Harvest, 20 new jobs.

Last fiscal year, El Paso County and Colorado Springs led the state in OEDIT incentive approvals, with nine, the office shared. Of those nine companies, five chose to expand to the area, potentially adding more than 1,700 jobs at an average annual wage of just under $125,000 per year.

In 2023, nine companies were set to hire more than 3,000 new employees; spend nearly $2 billion on buildings, equipment and other purchases for their expansion; and add nearly $1 billion a year to the Colorado Springs area’s economic output, according to past coverage by The Gazette.

Annual reports from the state Economic Development Commission show consistently strong performance by El Paso County.

Not every project panned out, however. Meyer Burger, a major Swiss solar manufacturer, announced it planned to expand to Colorado Springs in 2023. Its incentive package included nearly $5 million from the state and up to $90 million from local entities like Colorado Springs Utilities and the city’s economic development group. However, the company announced last year it was halting its plans in the Springs because the project was “no longer financially viable … due to recent developments.”

Meyer Burger did not walk away with tens of millions of dollars, however, since the incentives are contingent upon a company meeting job growth requirements and sustaining them, according to OEDIT.

An incentive approved by OEDIT and local entities does not guarantee a company will select the city, either. Project Kiwi was an attempt to attract the national governing body of the U.S. Gymnastics team. It was unsuccessful and USA Gymnastics chose to remain near Indianapolis.

So far this fiscal year, local leaders have attempted to woo one company, code named both Project Rey and Project Oxygen, a service provider in the semiconductor industry. In October, the state economic development office approved a $1.1 million job growth incentive and more than $700,00 in Enterprise Zone Investment, New Employee and Job Training Tax Credits, according to OEDIT.

It will seek to create 66 jobs at an average annual wage of $59,530.