Gold and silver built this Battleground when a rush for riches in the 1800s brought prospectors and railroads to mining camps pitched in rocky gulches. Fortunes were gained and lost. Strangers came to seek wealth; some moved on to new claims while others started new lives amid a spectacular setting.
The rough and tumble existence of hardscrabble mining meant that survival often depended on maintaining a certain level of tolerance for neighbors and newcomers. Denver’s culture still carries a similar sense of tolerance and relaxed efficiency — including having a friendly and helpful attitude — resulting in a highly professional aftermarket where knowing your niche, offering top-notch customer service and providing hotshot delivery marks the mother lode for business success.
If you’re prospecting to put down stakes here, make sure you know exactly where your claim is — and then check it again: This Battleground’s jurisdictional boundaries were born of old mining districts with odd shapes and sizes, and today’s borders continue to shift as times change. The cost of real estate, especially in proximity to high-end projects, is another factor that could derail expansion plans.
Significant settlements
While development is definitely on the move here, an automotive-related business looking to settle here may find critical restrictions or an outright ban.
“When new housing goes up, there are always zoning problems that crop up,” reports Jim Roepsporff, operations manager of Import Parts Warehouse. “Automotive is always under local government scrutiny.” He suggests waiting for a desired development to become established before making your move. “It does take a few years to get some of those zoning laws to come down.”
Opportunities are all around, according to Norman Sydow, owner of Apple Street Mortgage in Louisville. “Our little town is built-out,” he explains, “but the Denver area is still expanding along the Interstate-25 corridor northward toward Fort Collins and southward toward Colorado Springs, plus it’s heading off to the east along Interstate 70.” Weld County to the northeast also holds promise.
The Rocky Mountains to the west form a natural barrier to significant settlement, although Sydow points to affluent residents who are moving up the canyons to panoramic vacation homes amid restored Victorian mining towns.
“Infill” is another trend setting Denver apart from most other metropolitan areas. Growth typically moves outward in concentric circles. Here, however, architecturally pleasing infill projects are bringing people back to historic downtown neighborhoods.
New housing stock continues to come in with more on the way, sparking potential hotspots for industry businesses. “You can go to the outskirts of the Denver area and on either side (of the road) you can see the growth and development — and the jobber stores are moving outward too,” says Roepsporff.
“In Denver they’re very strong with program groups,” reports Dusty Dodge, director of marketing for Engine Performance Warehouse. The company is the largest member of the Engine Pro/Engine Parts Group. “There are only a handful of independent jobbers left.”
Dodge describes a firm commitment to the three-step process. “We sell to machine shops and jobbers; we do not sell to installers,” he says.
“We have a niche that we focus on,” adds Dodge. “The other WDs have conceded the engine parts business (to us) because it’s complicated and it takes some expertise.”
The region’s meticulously planned developments are also opening up opportunities for discount parts stores and chain service centers.
“The challenge is that as new communities are built, the neighborhood shop will never exist,” says Douglass Kirchdorfer, co-owner with his wife Rebecca of the six-bay Downing Street Garage in downtown Denver. “We have a unique situation as we occupy an old gasoline station that is in an established neighborhood.” In other areas, “all commerce is restricted to commercial zones, and the independent is competing with the Midases, Firestones and Goodyears,” he adds.
Superior service
Rodine’s Auto Service on York Street has been in business 55 years, and co-owner Linda Rodine says the eight-bay business has no plans to follow the crowds. “We’re not looking to expand anywhere; they’re all going suburban, and we’re close to downtown. We have people from all over because we offer superior service.”
Brothers Jim and Larry Tapp have a similar philosophy at their Tapp’s Garage, an 18-bay facility on Mississippi Avenue. In 25 years, they’ve never had a complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau. (Auto repair disputes rank No. 10 on the state’s list of most-common consumer problems.)
“We put the customer ahead of profit,” declares Jim Tapp. “It’s your reputation! I would rather have a happy customer and not make a dime than have an unhappy customer and make a profit. We do whatever it takes; it’s a cost of doing business, and all of our employees understand that before they’re hired.”
In 2005, Tapp’s had its best year ever. First call goes to ACDelco, followed by Havana Auto Parts and then WorldPac. Discount suppliers are avoided. “They don’t have the service that the others do.”
Havana, a NAPA outlet based in Aurora, rates a special mention as numerous shop owners throughout the region are raving over the superb service and value provided. “They go clear across town, they run a lot of trucks, and they just go crazy (making on-time deliveries),” says Tapp.
“You hang up the phone and your part is at the back door,” according to Rolf Werner, president of Werner’s Mastertek. He, too, eschews discounters. “We only put quality parts on. We don’t use the cheap stuff.”
Havana also rings up first call at Downing Street, where Kirchdorfer agrees with the industry consensus that Denver’s aftermarket is neither underserved nor overserved. The supply stream seems to be in line for the volume of vehicles on the roads, although competition among the DIFM segment can be especially tough.
“If we are talking strictly parts, I can’t see how anyone else could make a significant dent here,” Kirchdorfer contends. “There is a very strong NAPA Auto Care program here in Denver and NAPA is the required supplier. If you are talking repair shops, I would say that no, there is not enough business unless you have a strong business sense and can pull work away from other shops.”
Rebecca Kirchdorfer observes that “our competition is the car dealer — not the other strong independents.”
A mile away at the three-bay Mancinelli’s Auto Repair Center, owner Steve Mancinelli makes CARQUEST his first call and is pleased with the impact of the infill development he sees coming in. “In the last year, it has really exploded; condos and townhouses are being built all around us, and there will be a population movement from the suburbs to the inner city.”
The entire region is gaining through a migration to Denver of former California residents who appreciate a lower cost of living and easier commutes, according to Mancinelli. “It was no big deal for them to drive 45 minutes to an hour to work.”
It’s a dry cold
Coy Carter has owned the five-bay Our Garage in Aurora for 20 years, and he says newcomers should not be discouraged by the region’s reputation for ferocious winter weather. The blizzards blow in and the blizzards blow out, and low humidity levels create a more temperate, drier cold.
And while the thin air of the Mile High City sends hanging curveballs soaring over the fence and forces football players to huff oxygen, it has no impact on the performance of today’s electronically enhanced vehicles. According to Coy, in the past the high altitude robbed 14 percent of a car’s power; a good amount of his work involved performing tune-ups to remedy this condition.
From 2004 to 2005, Our Garage’s sales rose 15 percent. Carter sees a more comfortable ride ahead. “In the past we’ve seen people go out of business, but not lately,” he points out. “The pathway we’re going to see is better, not worse.”
Douglas County
Population: 237,963
Median household income: $82,929
Ranching has rapidly been ridden out by residential and retail as development moves southward at a record pace. Douglas is Colorado’s No. 1 county for population growth, with a 27-percent increase between 2000 and 2003. When tracked from 2000 to ’04, the increase expands to 35 percent.
In 1997, Douglas was the fastest-growing county in the entire United States.
Using 20 statistics to rate living conditions in every U.S. county, the American City Business Journals ranked Douglas No. 4 in the nation “as a great place to live, work and raise a family.”
Chances are the quality of life here is enhanced by the residents’ healthy financial situation; the annual household income figure of $82,929 in Douglas is almost double the national amount of $41,994.
Roepsporff, the operations manager at IPW, has been around this Battleground since 1973. He describes a Douglas County aftermarket that has kept in step with the zooming population and income levels. “The city of Parker has seen considerable growth; they have the same players, but the stores are getting bigger.” These operations are adding square footage and boosting inventory levels.
In the 1860s, Parker was known as “The 20 Mile House” because of the weigh station for trail riders 20 miles south of Denver. By 1870, the owner had traded the structure in exchange for a pair of mules.
According to R. L. Polk & Co., nowadays Parker has a considerable amount of tweeners. Half opt for DIFM, compared to a DIY rating of 9 percent.
The Yellow Pages list slightly more than two dozen parts purveyors serving the city’s 40,000 residents. Nestled along Parker Road in town are AutoZone, CARQUEST, Burt Ford and Firestone. Others throughout the community include NAPA, Advance, Checker (CSK), Big O Tires and Cottman Transmission, plus there’s the uniquely named In the Buff Automotive over on Dransfeldt Road.
Castle Rock, the county seat, sits midway between Denver and Colorado Springs — its namesake geologic formation is visible along Interstate 25 at the base of the Rocky Mountains. The spectacularly rugged site is home to 35,000 people with a median household income of $64,138.
Tweeners are here in abundance, as Polk lists a 56 percent DIFM rate while DIYers account for less than 7 percent of the motorists. Nine businesses are in place to provide parts and services, according to the Yellow Pages, including AutoZone, Big O Tires, Checker, Medved Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge and Wal-Mart.
Highlands Ranch, the vast planned community with a median household income of $86,792, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Covering 22,000 acres, the development adds an average of 2,500 homes each year. Known locally as “The Ranch,” its current population consists of 81,859 people living in 26,684 homes and 3,305 apartment units. They prefer DIFM services, posting rates of 62 percent and 56 percent.
About a dozen automotive enterprises are rustling up business in the area around The Ranch, including NAPA, Peerless Tyre, Aamco Transmission, Discount Tire and Rack-N-Road Vehicle Outfitters.
Arapahoe County
Population: 522,812
Median household income: $53,570
East of downtown, Arapahoe hosts Aurora — Colorado’s third largest city. The county seat is Littleton.
From 2000 to 2004, Arapahoe’s population rose a little over 7 percent. The annual per capita income in 2002 was $43,109, a 30-percent upswing from 1997’s numbers. The 2002 figure is 139 percent of the national per capita income, $30,906.
In the late 1970s and early ’80s, Aurora was the fastest-growing city in the U.S. In addition to the Havana NAPA, Pep Boys, AutoZone and Advance are among the retailers serving the local market, which has varying levels of DIY vs. DIFM. The highest DIY ranking is 34 percent; most prevalent are DIFM rates rising to 70 percent, 61 percent and 58 percent.
For 2005, business at Werner’s Mastertek on Dayton Street was up 14 percent over ’04, according to the company’s President Rolf Werner, who owns the seven-stall operation (five lifts, two flat-bays) with his wife Beverly.
The parts and service scene could be pretty tight for any newcomers, he says, citing a city-mandated moratorium on additional automotive-related businesses.
Werner suggests that an impressive financial package may ease those rules somewhat: “You have to be a big box to get in over here, so we have a locked market.”
Mastertek’s first call goes to WorldPac, followed by Havana Auto Parts and then ACDelco.
Customer services abound, such as a customer referral program (refer someone and you get a $5 “bonus buck”), shuttle service and an oil change card (buy four oil changes, the fifth one is free).
Mastertek belongs to the Better Business Bureau, the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) and several civic organizations in the area. Werner actively participates in these various endeavors. “People do business with people they know,” he explains, and this helps attract customers.
Word-of-mouth endorsements from satisfied clients are a critical part of the business. Advertising hasn’t really been a necessity because “we’ve been so busy I just haven’t had time to do it.”
Werner points out that “we’re right in the middle of that Golden Triangle,” presenting a strong base of vehicles emanating from the Lowry and Stapleton developments plus the Colorado University Fitzsimmons medical complex.
“East and south is where all the growth is going on,” according to Werner. The Green Valley Ranch development appears to be a fertile field of potential patrons, along with the action in Adams County just north of Arapahoe. “They’re going to get 140,000 new homes over the next seven years.”
Adams County
Population: 389,857
Median household income: $47,323
Easing out eastward in a horizontal rectangle, the prairies of Adams County have seen a 7-percent rise in residents since 2000. The Colorado Division of Local Government expects the population to exceed 500,000 by 2020, lifted in part by the presence of the nation’s newest major flight facility, the Denver International Airport (DIA).
DIA’s formerly forlorn surroundings are en route to becoming an “aerotropolis” of development engulfing Commerce City and Brighton, which is the county seat. Adams’ officials are making considerable efforts to manage this growth, which includes a new Commerce City soccer stadium hosting the Colorado Rapids footballers.
Since 2000, Commerce City’s housing stock has doubled with more than 5,000 new homes or condominiums. The 25 auto-related businesses include Wal-Mart, Checker, CARQUEST, Big O and AutoZone.
The DIY/DIFM percentage figures for Commerce City are 33/32. Prime development areas include the Northern Range and City Center sections along Highway 2, Vasquez Boulevard, Quebec Street, Tower Road and E-470. Planners say opportunities for new retail and service businesses are on track with residential growth in conjunction with sites for office/warehouse, neighborhood commercial and office park development. In addition, 12 percent of the city’s budget goes toward capital improvement projects for roads, bridges and community beautification.
Adams County currently has a six-month moratorium on new water projects, yet the big picture remains one of ongoing residential and retail expansion, such as the 3,100-plus acres of “prime development land” in Strasburg available under the “Comanche Farms” designation.
“Everything’s moving from Denver to the east,” says Jeff Lasecke, co-owner of Plains Auto Parts and Service Inc. in Strasburg. “All of the farm ground is being split into 35-acre lots, and they’re putting in small subdivisions.”
Straddling portions of Arapahoe County to the south, four communities are lined up in a row along the highway: Bennett, Strasburg, Byers and Deer Trail. (The town of Last Chance is further eastward.) Deer Trail has one of the highest DIY rankings within the Denver Battleground, a little more than 42 percent with a median household income of $30,481.
Strasburg’s median household income amounts to $53,558 amid a 28/27 DIY/DIFM percentage ratio.
The Plains’ ownership, Lasecke, his brother Steve and Terry Stedillie, are confident that they are perfectly positioned to reach both segments with their recently expanded parts store and repair center across from the historic train depot.
“There are two new subdivisions coming into this area,” Lasecke reports. Founded by the trio eight years ago, Plains was a repair-only shop until last year, when they opened a retail section under the Parts Plus banner. “We doubled the square footage of our operation and business has picked up quite a bit,” he explains. “We’ve had continued growth every month since we’ve opened.”
Plains previously leased half the structure; in 2005 they bought the building and added three lifts and an alignment station, creating eight bays plus the Parts Plus store.
“We’d been talking to Parts Plus for a while,” Lasecke recounts. Ownership had reviewed several other program groups; the deal was sealed when they toured a couple of Parts Plus stores in Wyoming and liked what they saw. Plus, he says, “Their warehouse is right down the Interstate from us.”
Gilpin County
Population: 4,883
Median household income: $51,942
Clear Creek County
Population: 9,223
Median household income: $50,997
Casinos and tourism are the precious commodities here, and the demographics involved are creating economic disparity between the haves and have-nots.
Clear Creek and Gilpin are the Denver Battleground’s western counties, high up in the Rockies. The rugged terrain combines with a strong historic preservation movement to render development impractical and unwanted.
Buses chug forth bringing tourists to mining country, and high-end residents are moving into spectacularly scenic second homes. Yet the glitz here sparkles from slot machines, ghost towns and day trips on restored narrow-gauge railroads.
Central City, Gilpin’s county seat, was once known as the “Richest Square Mile on Earth” based on $500 million in gold that was gleaned from the gulches. A population that peaked at 30,000 in the 1800s is now down to 300 year-round residents amid restored Victorian structures perched throughout the Central City/Black Hawk National Historic District.
They have 30 casinos here, more than Atlantic City, N.J. There isn’t an ASA-member shop within 20 miles. The consensus is that most residents are taking care of their automotive needs within the metro area.
“Because those areas are mostly vacation or second homes, I can’t see how a shop could start up and make it with the competition already established in those counties,” according to Kirchdorfer at the Downing Street Garage.
“Most of the ‘locals’ are low-wage earners as it is,” he continues, “and almost everyone comes to Denver for big purchases. Except for the bigger towns, there are no Goodyears, Firestones and Midases. That tells me there is just not enough work for more.”
Jefferson County
Population: 526,351
Median household income: $57,339
Positioned as a western buffer between Denver and the Rockies, Colorado’s largest county has seen a slight decline in population since the 2000 census.
At one time, Wheat Ridge claimed title to being the “Carnation Capital of the World.” Nowadays, that bloom is off the rose due to encroaching development over the years.
“Most of the carnation fields are gone,” reports Gregory Dunlap, president and CEO of the Engine Pro/Engine Parts Group, which is headquartered here. The operation consists of 13 member-owners with 23 distribution centers nationwide.
“Jefferson County is typically middle class to upper-income bedroom communities; you have mature families with kids of high school age, and their fathers have disposable incomes — and so do some of the kids,” says Dunlap, who knows what he’s talking about: His 16-year-old son Ian actively purchases “tuner” add-ons to trick out a prized 1993 Honda Civic.
In addition to the youthful sport import category, the elder Dunlap sees his peers pursuing custom cars with equal vigor. “They enjoy hot rods and restoring antique and classic cars — we have a great hot rod and restoration market here.”
For the more mundane services, the atmosphere is best described as “fairly stable,” he observes, emphasizing the high quality of life that Jeffco residents enjoy.
“We’ve got businesses going and businesses coming; Jefferson is an older community that’s losing population to other areas” within the Battleground’s borders, according to Dunlap.
“It’s a big county, though, and I think there are plenty of opportunities. But I wouldn’t do it in Jefferson County — I’d do it in one of the growing cities” to the east or to the north.
