Each year the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce takes a delegation of political, business, education and non profit leaders to visit another U.S. city to learn how they are growing their economy and addressing challenges all big cities face from transportation to homelessness.
This year I’m proud to be joining the Chamber’s intercity study mission to Denver — like Seattle a fast growing and vibrant city that is also dealing with the same issues Seattle is struggling with as a result of their hot economy.
This morning we heard from a panel of business leaders about how they formed a regional economic development organization that works on behalf of nine counties in the Denver area — a true regional approach that the central Puget Sound cities and counties are just now working to create.
This afternoon we are visiting The Commons on Champa — a former police facility that now is an epicenter of Denver’s startup community.
Like Seattle too, Denver benefits from a strong higher education community anchored by the University of Colorado that has a strong presence in the city even though the main campus is located in nearby Boulder.
Our delegation wraps up our visit tomorrow afternoon.