Adams County is poised to embrace the economic growth, development and influx in population in coming years, according to business and government leaders who spoke at the Adams County Regional Economic Partnership “State of the Region” event in Northglenn on Wednesday.

“This region is a strong economic driver for our entire state,” said Gov. Jared Polis.

Lynn Baca, chairwoman of the Adams County Commissioners, told the crowd: “We are providing a diverse range of services with a commitment to world-class customer service, innovation and inclusivity.”

She ticked off projects underway in Adams County like partnerships with the Denver Botanical Gardens, the Denver Zoo, improvements to the Riverdale Regional Park and Fairgrounds, a Veterans Memorial that will include the U.S.S Colorado battleship and “expanded trail connectivity.”

“We hope to have attractions and amenities that will stretch from 120th Avenue all the way to E-470,” Baca said.

She said public works projects are underway to “make our communities more attractive for new developments.” Updates to the county’s development standards and regulations are also underway “to train us in current best practices in site planning and development,” Baca said.

Polis broke down how some of the tax and fee cutting measures recently passed by the General Assembly will impact Adams County residents.

Those included a state sales tax cut for Adams County retailers that could amount to about $3.5 million per year; commercial property tax cuts that could trim $1,900 a year off a property tax bill of a building worth $500,000; $300 million in savings to residential home property taxpayers; and tax rebates of $500 for an individual or $1,000 for joint filers — which is worth about $161 million in tax savings per year, Polis said.

“There are enormous opportunities ahead and the state looks forward to partnering with you to improve the quality of life and save people money here in Adams County,” Polis said.

Doug Campbell, co-founder and CEO of Solid Power, and Steve VanNurden, president and CEO of Fitzsimons Innovation Community, talked

about ongoing workforce challenges, the growth of their companies in Adams County and the increase in venture capitalist money in Colorado in recent years.

Solid Power, based in Louisville, develops “all-solid-state” rechargeable battery cells for electric vehicles and “mobile power markets.”

“Solid power replaces the flammable liquid electrolyte in conventional lithium-ion battery with a proprietary sulfide-based solid electrolyte,” according to the company.

It’s building a 75,000-square-foot production facility in Thornton to build and test those electrolyte cells. Campbell said it should be open by September or October. It could house up to 200 employees once fully functional.

“We’re slowly transitioning into a chemical manufacturing company,” Campbell said. “It was a no-brainer for us to come to Adams County and I look forward to having my office here.”

Even though the labor market is tight, there’s plenty of talent in the area thanks to research schools like the University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado School of Mines and Colorado State University, Campbell said.

VanNurden said Fitzsimons Innovation Community has some 28,000 employees on the 1-square-mile campus that includes CU Anschutz, Children’s Hospital Colorado and UCHealth. It’s in the process of building two more facilities that are scheduled to open in 2023 and 2024.

“In the last six years, we’ve had 600 companies come to our campus to see what’s going on,” VanNurden said.

He said the main challenge to attract workers is to better communicate “there are all kinds of jobs in heath care and life sciences … not just for doctors.”