What Centro Inc. does

Centro Inc. is a privately held, founder-led management consulting firm headquartered at 2901 Blake Street, Denver, Colorado, founded in 2009 by Jamie Giellis. The firm specializes in place management, community revitalization, and urban district formation, providing three interconnected service lines: Strategy and Capacity Services (special district feasibility and creation, financing tools and grant writing, public/private partnership formation, strategic planning); Community Planning Services (community plan development, implementation strategy, plan delivery); and Engagement Services (public engagement, community outreach facilitation, public speaking and consensus building). The underlying "technology" is a proprietary consulting methodology that combines stakeholder research, strategic planning, BID/CID/special district formation expertise, and on-the-ground implementation support tailored to each community's history and context. Centro's documented track record spans more than 70 communities across the United States, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, with approximately 80 special districts established, renewed, expanded, or reimagined.

The firm makes money through project-based professional services engagements with quote-based, non-publicly disclosed pricing. The typical entry point is a complimentary one-hour consultation. The go-to-market motion is consultative and relationship-driven, leveraging the founder's six-year tenure on the International Downtown Association Board, conference programming involvement, an emerging-leader program she helped develop, and earned media (KTVN, Fox 5 Vegas, The Nevada Independent, the New York Times) to generate inbound project inquiries from government entities, business improvement districts, metropolitan districts, and community/nonprofit organizations. Customer segments are horizontal by use case: (i) government and public-sector organizations forming or managing districts; (ii) existing BIDs/CIDs/metropolitan districts seeking management, renewal, or strategic planning; (iii) neighborhood and community groups; and (iv) international and metropolitan planning organizations. The firm is an independent entity with no disclosed parent, institutional investors, PE/VC backing, patents, trademarks, awards, partnerships, acquisitions, or productized software offering.

Name

Centro Inc.

Legal name

Centro Inc.

Website

https://becentro.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Centro Inc. is a Denver-based, founder-led consulting firm that helps municipalities, business improvement districts, and community organizations revitalize places through special district formation, strategic planning, and public engagement services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban and Community Development Consulting

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Market Research & Economic Advisory (Demand/Supply, Location Analytics) (BPAJANAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL), Corporate & Foundation Relations (Sponsorships, Grants, Partnerships) (EDALAOAE)

Keywords

• Urban revitalization consulting
• Special district formation
• Community development planning
• Business improvement district advisory
• Public engagement services

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Professional consulting engagements for community planning, special district creation and management, strategic planning, public-private partnership formation, and grant writing. Engagements are project-based with individualized scopes across local government, BID, and community organization clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Centro Inc. is a Denver-based consulting firm that delivers professional services for strategic community development and urban revitalization. The firm offers three interconnected service areas: Strategy and Capacity Services (special district feasibility and creation, financing tools, public/private partnership formation), Community Planning Services (community plan development and implementation), and Engagement Services (public outreach, consensus building, and speaking engagements). Engagements are project-based and tailored to municipal governments, business improvement districts, and community organizations.

Product overview

Centro Inc. is a consulting firm offering a suite of professional services focused on strategic community development and urban revitalization. The company operates as a single integrated consulting practice rather than a software platform, providing three interconnected service areas: Strategy and Capacity Services (special district creation, financing tools, public/private partnerships), Community Planning Services (plan development and implementation), and Engagement Services (public outreach and consensus building). These services work together to help communities establish visions and implement strategies for economic, social, and cultural development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy and Capacity Services Expertise in creating organizational approaches and funding strategies that build capacity for community change, including special district feasibility and creation, financing tools and grant writing, public/private partnership creation, and strategic planning for governments, BIDs, and community organizations.
• Community Planning Services Community-focused planning services including community plan development, implementation strategy, and plan delivery, grounded in a place's history, culture, struggles, and successes. Targeted at neighborhood associations, arts districts, creative districts, and municipal governments.
• Engagement Services Public process and consensus-building services including public engagement, community outreach facilitation, and public speaking engagements to support planning and revitalization approaches for municipal clients, BIDs, and community groups.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fort Collins' first BID established with unanimous City Council vote
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers36 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• International Downtown Association: Trade association for downtown districts and place-management professionals where Centro's founder served on the board; not a competitor but the primary industry body shaping the market and referral network that Centro sells into.

Direct peers

• Sasaki: International planning, urban design, and landscape architecture firm working with cities and developers on district master plans, creative districts, and equitable development — comparable to Centro's community planning and equitable development work.
• Streetsense: Place-based consulting, real estate, and marketing firm that helps BIDs, mixed-use districts, and destinations with strategy, branding, and stakeholder engagement — overlapping Centro's strategy and district-management service lines.
• HR&A Advisors: National real estate and economic development advisory firm serving public agencies and private developers on district strategy, public/private partnerships, and economic revitalization — a direct competitor to Centro in advising cities on place-based economic growth strategies.
• Gehl: Urban strategy and public-space consultancy advising cities on people-centered placemaking, public-realm improvements, and district activation — comparable to Centro's engagement, place-management, and downtown activation work.
• Dover, Kohl & Partners: Town planning firm focused on walkable, mixed-use neighborhood and downtown plans for municipalities — directly comparable to Centro's neighborhood planning engagements such as Athmar Park and Golden Triangle.
• Project for Public Spaces (PPS): Nonprofit planning and consulting organization specializing in placemaking, public space activation, and community-based district revitalization — directly comparable to Centro's community planning and engagement services for BIDs and creative districts.

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: Global design and architecture firm with a dedicated urban strategy practice advising cities and developers on district master plans, BIDs, and creative districts — adjacent to Centro's strategy and planning services but at much greater scale.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure and urban planning firm whose economics and planning practice competes for the same municipal economic development and master-planning engagements as Centro, but at a vastly larger scale and with multidisciplinary delivery.
• Stantec: Large global engineering, architecture, and community development consultancy that competes in urban planning, downtown revitalization, and public-realm design — overlapping Centro's work but as part of a broader portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centro-inc._2

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centro Inc.