You probably have heard the news already that the federal government has just selected Denver, along with two other cities (Dallas and San Jose) to join Detroit as the four cities to receive a branch location of the U. S. Patent Office. The positive impacts of this for the Denver region are profound. Now, the speculation is on as to where in the Denver metro area that office should go. According to a Denver Post article from today (click here to view as a PDF), the options include Stapleton, Downtown Denver, Colorado Science & Technology Park at Fitzsimons in Aurora, Centennial, Greenwood Village, the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, and Lone Tree.

The U.S. Patent Office belongs in Downtown Denver.

Downtown is the obvious choice. Landing this new U.S. Patent office was a big win for the region, and Downtown Denver is almost in the exact geographic center of the region. The other proposed locations form a ring around Downtown. Being centrally located in Downtown would make it easy for people from anywhere—Boulder, the Denver Tech Center area, Lakewood and Golden, Broomfield, or Aurora—to get to the new Patent office.

The feds say that a location next to a transit stop is very important. While the other potential locations are found near existing or future RTD transit lines, the Downtown Denver option would put the U.S. Patent Office at the hub of all of RTD’s transit lines. Why place the office at a location that is accessible from only one transit line? That doesn’t make it very convenient for people from throughout the region to access the office by transit. Only a Downtown Denver location gives people from throughout the region the convenience of accessing the office by transit.

Those U.S. Patent Office employees will have very limited options for walking anywhere from their office at the other locations, but in Downtown Denver, hundreds of restaurants, shops, sports, cultural, and recreational options would be available within a short walk of the office.

Finally, locating this new Patent office in Downtown is by far the most sustainable option. A Downtown office would be proximate to the greatest number of people who could access the office by a mode of transportation other than the automobile. If the feds and regional officials are serious about sustainability (and just yesterday, Mayor Hancock announced his appointment of the city’s first Chief Sustainability Officer), then they will select Downtown Denver.

Mayor Hancock: I call on you to demonstrate your leadership and commitment to sustainability and to Downtown Denver by lobbying hard to bring the U.S. Patent Office to Downtown Denver.

DenverInfill readers, what I’d like you to do is contact Mayor Hancock by email ([email protected]) or by telephone (720-865-9000) and tell him “The new U.S. Patent Office belongs in Downtown Denver!”