Amazon passed by the Front Range in its hunt for a second headquarters, but Checkr, a San Francisco company with technology that speeds up background checks, is giving Denver serious consideration for its HQ2.
“Denver made our new office shortlist for two key reasons: First and foremost, the city has a strong talent pool and a dynamic economy. Second, it’s an attractive destination for workers wishing to relocate for a new job,” the company confirmed in a statement.
The Colorado Economic Development Commission on Thursday morning approved $27.8 million in job growth incentive tax credits for Checkr, which used the code name Project Validate, in return for it hiring up to 1,472 people in the state over the next eight years.
The company, founded in 2014, has venture capital backing, but can’t easily grow as it wants to in the Bay Area. The bulk of future hiring is expected to come in whatever city lands HQ2. Texas and Georgia are also in the running.
EDC board member Chris Franz asked how difficult it would be for the company to hire its quota of technology workers, given the shortages that already exist. That was an issue raised when Amazon was considering Denver for its HQ2 and 50,000 potential hires.
The jobs the company brings will pay an average wage of $138,050, which is more than double the median wage in Denver County. It will also be more than enough to support the typical rents found in the metro area, which was a consideration the company weighed.
If Checkr picks Denver, it will be the latest in a series of northern California firms seeking relief from that area’s crowded real estate market and crowded labor pool, said Michelle Hadwiger, deputy director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
Checkr executives who attended Thursday’s meeting said they were impressed by the talent pool, the available office space, the relative affordability of housing, and the transportation options.
The commission also approved three other cloaked incentive requests Thursday. Project Guard, a provider of home service plans, was granted $3.1 million in job growth incentives if it brings 100 information tech and software engineering workers to Denver or Broomfield. Those jobs would pay an average annual wage of $132,000.
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Project Neve, an outdoor recreation and real estate development company already based in Colorado, received $1.7 million in incentives to create a marketing and technical support center employing 132 people at an average annual wage of $138,883.
The most novel request came from Project Capture, a Singapore company that is designing a satellite that can track and capture space debris and then fling it down toward earth to incinerate in the atmosphere.
The company wants to establish a U.S. base to improve its chances of winning U.S. contracts. Project Capture received approval for $1 million in incentives, contingent on it employing 54 workers paying an average wage of $108,833 in Colorado.
