Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect that SelectTech plans to hire 150 people over the next two years, not eight years as originally stated.
The Colorado Economic Development Commission on Jan. 15 approved nearly $2 million in tax credits for an unnamed aerospace company that is considering expanding to El Paso or Elbert counties and hiring 150 people during the next two years.
Code named “Project Oak,” the company is a military contractor that employs 158 people and is also considering expansion in the state where its headquarters is located, which the commission did not identify. The jobs would pay an average wage of nearly $86,000 and include engineers and technicians as well as buyers, managers, planners and technical writers, according to a summary from the commission.
The company behind Project Oak will base its location decision on expansion costs, proximity to specialized talent in the aviation industry and proximity to its customers, including U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force installations in the Colorado Springs area, and target personnel transitioning out of those installations for its workforce, the commission document said.
Aerospace companies and defense contractors account for more than half of the 19 companies that have announced expansion plans in the Colorado Springs area during the past three years with projected hiring of more than 2,400 people.
The commission also approved tax credits totaling nearly $4 million for companies in the quantum and manufacturing industries that are considering expansions in Boulder and the Denver area and plan to hire 247 people during the next eight years.
Wayne Heilman is a senior writer for the SoCo Business Forum & Digest.