THORNTON -- The City of Thornton enjoyed another solid year of commercial development as the City's Building Department issued 129 Certificates of Occupancy (CO's) in 2005.

CO's are issued by Thornton when a commercial building is newly constructed or when a substantial remodeling of an existing building is completed. (I.E.: a new store or restaurant locates in an existing shopping center.) CO's are only issued when all legal requirements of all City agencies involved (i.e., Building, Fire, Zoning and Utilities) have been met.

Some featured businesses among the 129 CO's issued in 2005 include:
Auto Zone -- North side of 104th Ave., just West of Colorado Boulevard in the Colony Square Shopping Center
Brothers Plumbing -- 12249 Pennsylvania Street in the Washington Square Employment Center
Chipotle -- On the northeast corner of Thornton Parkway and Washington Street in the Lambertson Lakes Center
Dairy Queen -- On the East side of Grant Street, just south of 102nd Avenue
First Bank of Adams County -- Northeast corner of 136th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in the Hilltop Village Shopping Center
Gander Mountain -- Grant Street and 102nd Avenue in the Thornton Town Center
Home Depot -- I-25 and Highway 7 in the Larkridge Regional Retail Center
Huron 92 Center -- On the West side of Huron Street, just North of Thornton Parkway
Quizno's/ Cricket/ Starbucks -- Northeast corner of 84th Avenue and Pearl Street
Sears Grand -- I-25 and Highway 7 in the Larkridge Regional Retail Center
Wal-Mart Super Center -- Grant Street and 102nd Avenue in the Thornton Town Center

D. Robert Smith is the business development marketing administrator for the City of Thornton.