Modular construction is often associated with residences, but a Denver company is considering Adams County for a new manufacturing facility that could employ nearly 1,800 workers building custom modules for commercial uses.
The Colorado Economic Development Commission awarded $24.4 million in Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits on Thursday morning to a company using the codename Project Split. An executive representing the company before the commission works for Denver-based RK Industries LLC, which operates as RK, and is headquartered at 3800 Xanthia St.
RK has a large fabrication space for its RK Steel and RK Energy subsidiaries in Henderson, while Aurora hosts two facilities dedicated to producing customized modules for RK Mission Critical, a subsidiary that serves aerospace, financial, tech and agricultural clients.
The incentives are tied to the creation of up to 1,786 net new jobs at an average annual wage of $92,829, which is 130% of the average annual wage in Adams County. The jobs will include workers in finance, accounting, program management and project engineering, according to the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
Texas and Arizona are also in the running for the new module plant and have offered incentives, according to OEDIT.
Gov. Jared Polis has pushed hard to make Colorado a hub for modular construction as a way to lower housing costs. The state has an Innovative Housing Incentive Program to attract and fund manufacturers and a modular factory loan program that adds Proposition 123 money to IHIP funds.
RK Mission Critical’s modules are commercially focused and have served as mobile rocket launch command centers, remote Bitcoin mining hubs, data centers and box farms used to raise crops in a controlled environment.
Ron Kinning started the predecessor of the company in 1963 as Kinning Plumbing in Pender, Neb. That entity would reincorporate in 1985 as RK Mechanical and move to Denver a year later, according to the company’s website. The company has enjoyed steady growth and has added locations in Colorado Springs, Vail, Albuquerque, Phoenix and Salt Lake City.
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