AURORA-POISED to Take on the New Millennium.

• Author: Lewis, Pete

Forget everything you know, or think you know, about Aurora, Colo.

Once considered Denver's plain, country cousin, Aurora is a major economic force and well on its way to becoming the high tech and biotech hub of Colorado and the entire Rocky Mountain region.

Aurora is the third largest city in Colorado and the 65th largest in the nation. It is 154 square miles, only half of which is developed. About 260,000 people live in Aurora and 110,000 work there. Aurora also is the home to more than 7,700 businesses, the largest city park in the nation (Aurora Reservoir) and, very soon, the tallest building between Denver and Kansas City.

Last year, Aurora added more than 1 million square feet of industrial space, 248,000 square feet of offices, 87,000 square feet of higher education facilities, six hotels, and about 5,000 jobs. Not bad for a city that just a few years ago was considered little more than a sprawling bedroom for its big sister to the west.

"The number of jobs added isn't as significant as the types of jobs we're creating," said Dick Hinson, vice president of the Aurora Economic Development Council. "Aurora grew up as a bedroom community for Denver and our three military bases, what we called our Khaki Triangle -- Lowry, Fitzsimons and Buckley. We've always had jobs, but they were mainly in retail and support services. What we're now seeing are high-paying, high-tech jobs, biotech jobs, computer engineers and systems integrators."

Things didn't always look so bright for Aurora.

In 1994, Lowry Air Force Base closed. While only a small portion of the base was within Aurora's city limits, the service men and women stationed at Lowry, and their families, had a tremendous impact on Aurora's economy.

Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, another major employer, shut down the next year. About 4,000 people worked at Fitzsimons with another 8,000 jobs indirectly dependent on the facility.

But neither site had time to collect dust. Aurora, neighboring cities, the state, federal government and private industry teamed. up and wasted no time turning the two economic hits into economic assets.

Aurora HEATs up to prepare Colorado's workforce for the 21st Century.

After Lowry closed, 156 acres of the former base was dedicated to the creation of the Higher Education and Advanced Technological Center. HEAT is a cooperative effort between private industry and 12 of Colorado's most progressive institutions of higher education.

"Our mission is to specifically...