Elder boom forecast for state

By 2030, there will be 1.2 million people aged 65 and older, bringing more service needs, a Jeffco economic group is told
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By Kelly Yamanouchi
Denver Post Staff Writer

Aging baby boomers will bump Colorado’s 65-and-older population to 1.2 million by 2030, triple the number reported in 2000.

Colorado has never had so many older people, state demographer Elizabeth Garner told members of the Jefferson Economic Council on Thursday. They will bring with them more service needs and, from active boomers, more demands.

“They are the people who helped widen 1-25,” Garner said. “Now they are going to widen the bike paths.” Economist Patricia Silverstein told the group that metro Denver could net 22,300 new jobs in 2007, 1,700 of them in Jefferson County, based on data from the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment. “We are still on a growth trend,” but with lighter growth next year, said Silverstein, who is president of Development Research Partners. This year, the metro area is expected to net about 26,000 new jobs, with some of the strongest, growth in education and health services.

Separately, Jefferson County officials have developed new software that will allow them to share information on the Web about available properties, at jeffco.us/planning. Beginning Tuesday, users will be able to use the website to find industrial, office, retail and service properties that meet their needs, said Tim Carl, Jefferson County director of development and transportation. Potential users could range from developers searching for vacant land to medical practitioners looking for office space.

Information on south Jefferson County will be available first, Carl said, but by next June, the entire county will be covered.