ConocoPhillips unveils vision for its Louisville campus

Initial phase of 432-acre project to open by 2012

By Alicia Wallace, Daily Camera

Published June 24, 2008 at 9:10 p.m.

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Mark Leffingwell / Daily Camera/2005

ConocoPhillips' Louisville campus

ConocoPhillips officials announced plans Tuesday for the energy giant's Phase I development at its 432-acre campus at the former Storage Technology campus in Louisville.

Plans call for the first phase to be completed by 2012.

The full build-out of the site could take 20 to 25 years because of the size of the project and the "crucial" nature of it for ConocoPhillips' future, said Mary Manning, ConocoPhillips' general manager of global real estate and facilities.

"We wanted to make a statement," she said of the company's long-term plans.

Louisville Mayor Chuck Sisk said he hoped the planned lodging facility could be a "destination facility" for Louisville and Boulder County - and "perhaps a convention center."

That impact could be significant, said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., who noted a previous announcement by ConocoPhillips that it plans to employ more than 7,000 people in Louisville in 20 years.

That eventual employment target would amount to a $400 million to $500 million local payroll for ConocoPhillips, create a total economic impact in excess of $1 billion and make ConocoPhillips the fourth-largest employer in metro Denver's private sector, Clark said.

The current top four employers, according to Clark's organization, are Qwest Communications, with 9,400 employees; Lockheed Martin Corp., with 8,200 employees; HealthONE, with 7,700 employees; and Exempla Healthcare, with 6,100 employees.

"This truly is a really big deal," Clark said.

The Louisville campus is expected to house an energy research and development center and a global training facility.

Those two business operations will help ConocoPhillips take a larger role in the changing U.S. energy landscape and energy policy, Manning said.

It's unclear how many employees are expected to travel to Louis ville to receive training or how many employees on the campus will be new hires.

Manning said ConocoPhillips will bring a "core group" of employees but that the company is going to "look to hire many people" to work at the campus from around the world.

The current real estate development in Louisville and the surrounding areas will be enough to handle the influx of ConocoPhillips' employees, Manning said, noting one of the company's main concerns is having enough supply.

"We feel confident that there is," she said.

Among other details:

* The site will not be mixed-use, meaning that there will be no residential real estate constructed on the campus.

* Colorado was selected for the project because it is "attractive" to employees and their families, centrally located and within the "oil patch."

* Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, and not the "typical hydrocarbon research," will be among the opportunities researched at the site.

* The campus is expected to be as "environmentally leading-edge as possible" in regard to features such as landscaping and buildings.

ConocoPhillips' plans for its Louisville campus

Phase I by 2012:

* Two new buildings, one for new energy research and the other for global training

* A hotel

* Restaurants

* Fitness center

Planned impact in 20-25 years:

* 7,000 employees

* $400 million-$500 million payroll*

* $1 billion economic impact*

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