GE Access to exit Pearl St. Mall Mall's largest employer relocating its headquarters to
Westminster
By Erika Stutzman, Camera Business Writer
October 23, 2002
GE Access, the Pearl Street Mall's largest employer, is leaving its longtime downtown
Boulder headquarters and taking 300 of its workers to Westminster.
Formerly Access Graphics, which was acquired by General Electric Corp. in 2000,
the company has resided at 1426 Pearl St. in Boulder for more than 10 years. The
office occupies roughly 80,000 square feet of office space above the mall.
"We are going to move part of the company out of the city of Boulder and move to
Westmoor Technology Park in Westminster," said President and Chief Executive
Officer John Paget. He said the company's local sales staff will remain just off the
mall.
"We will have a continued presence here," Paget said.
The approximately 150-person sales staff works in an office at 1620 Pearl — above
the Borders Books, Music & Cafe just off the mall.
That 20,000-square-foot office was just completed for GE Access at the beginning of
2001 to accommodate a staff of 225 and to meet expected growth. At that time,
another 425 worked on the Pearl Street Mall, and the company hoped to hire another
200 local workers.
But the timing turned out to be terrible.
GE Access sells computer systems and networks from vendors such as Sun
Microsystems and Storage Technology Corp. But in 2001, the spending spigot for
technology products and new networks slowed to a trickle.
A few months after its expansive move, the company cut 100 workers. By year's
end, the company had laid off about 230 people, including about 180 in Boulder. This
year, many technology firms including GE Access expected a recovery that hasn't yet
come.
At the beginning of the month, GE Access eliminated 78 people, 13 percent of its North
American work force, including 63 people in Boulder.
And it started talking about a possible move — whole or partial — out of pricey
Boulder. According to Andrew Freeman Property Advisors, downtown Boulder's
lease rate per square foot is an average of $19.32, while Westminster's was $18.61
earlier this year. Companies with larger space demands usually get a
better-than-average lease rate.
"It was a very compelling financial decision," Paget said.
The firm expects to move to 11300 Westmoor Circle in May 2003, he said.
"I understand that Access Graphics (GE Access) is making this decision for sound
business reasons and in response to their market forces," said Boulder City
Councilman Gordon Riggle. "But they are a very valued downtown employer, and it's
very sad to see them leave."
Riggle said as the largest employer downtown, GE Access acts much like an "anchor"
to the city center's economic health — its hundreds of workers are daily downtown
customers of restaurants, parking facilities and shops as well.
There was a last-minute attempt to keep the whole firm in Boulder, according to
officials. There was some talk of the company moving into One Boulder Plaza until
very recently.
But in the end, the less expensive option won out.
Jane Jenkins, executive director of Downtown Boulder, said the decision isn't sudden,
giving locals plenty of time to prepare for the vacancy. But she acknowledges that the
exodus of so many workers is a big deal.
"What makes them different is the number of people that they had downtown. The
workers here are crucial to the downtown economy," she said.
Contact Erika Stutzman at stutzmane@dailycamera.com or (303) 473-1354.
I can't help but wonder if they ever considered that maybe John Ramsey was a BIG part of the reason the business had been successful - before GE bought it and let him go.
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