COS is no longer the sprawly metro it once was (Denver: apartments, city hall)

[Phil P]

Just casual observations from a growing up here as a kid - I'd say COS is in the top 50% of metros its size for density after the last 5 years of development. Once this current trend plays out, essentially every empty plot of land will be developed, hemmed in by the Palmer divide where new development is prohibited past, the Air Force Academy, Black Forest (which probably isnt going be developed much more than the historic 5 acre minimums), and Ft. Carson.

They could keep developing east, but I don't really think too much of this is going to happen east of hwy 24, it's just bad geography compared to the rest and the city is basically deliberately making the road arteries sucky, like Marksheffal.

And looking at the current mix of development, it's either tight SFHs or multi unit, much denser than it was in the past. Even downtowns got a decent batch of apartments going up in it, making it a little more of a village than a place to see a parade...

There used to be so many empty plots of land lying around the city back in the 2000s, but the growing population and geographical barriers has made COS looks like a mini Denver from a land use perspective, except there's actually pretty landscapes in town like Pulpit Rock instead of a flat plain.

I think think the Colorado Springs metro is basically within about 100k people of a good natural limit to what the area can and should have. I don't think it will really ever, even by 2072, turn into Denver 2.0 and I just don't see the 2 merging into one blob. With remote work and price pressures and the strong outdoor focus of CO, the new developmemt lies in the mountains I think.

[Mike from back east]

Thanks Phil. It's been six years since we left the city and no telling from google maps how much has been done since. I recall some zoning meetings I attended downtown in City Hall (a very cool old building) and some members of City Council kept harping on the need for "in-fill" within the city rather than sprawling out. I hope they've been able to do that.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by Phil P

Just casual observations from a growing up here as a kid - I'd say COS is in the top 50% of metros its size for density after the last 5 years of development. Once this current trend plays out, essentially every empty plot of land will be developed, hemmed in by the Palmer divide where new development is prohibited past, the Air Force Academy, Black Forest (which probably isnt going be developed much more than the historic 5 acre minimums), and Ft. Carson.

They could keep developing east, but I don't really think too much of this is going to happen east of hwy 24, it's just bad geography compared to the rest and the city is basically deliberately making the road arteries sucky, like Marksheffal.

And looking at the current mix of development, it's either tight SFHs or multi unit, much denser than it was in the past. Even downtowns got a decent batch of apartments going up in it, making it a little more of a village than a place to see a parade...

There used to be so many empty plots of land lying around the city back in the 2000s, but the growing population and geographical barriers has made COS looks like a mini Denver from a land use perspective, except there's actually pretty landscapes in town like Pulpit Rock instead of a flat plain.

I think think the Colorado Springs metro is basically within about 100k people of a good natural limit to what the area can and should have. I don't think it will really ever, even by 2072, turn into Denver 2.0 and I just don't see the 2 merging into one blob. With remote work and price pressures and the strong outdoor focus of CO, the new developmemt lies in the mountains I think.

What exactly is the bad geography to the east. Seems like just pretty open land.

[COcheesehead]

When I lived in the Springs in the early ‘90’s people would come to visit us near Colorado College and comment on how compact the town was. I would drive them east from there and suddenly their tune would change.

[BabyBoomers2]

Our first time in the Springs was in 2003, when we had a house in Parker, by the E-470. We didn't really see any growth back then, but today, WOW!.

In July 2021, we were there and it definitely looked like it had grown. And, we were very surprised at how much Castle Rock had grown also. Unless a lot of construction was to happen between Castle Rock and the Springs, Denver metro would never meet up with the Springs.

[orngkat]

As a relative newcomer here (six years), it seems pretty sprawly to me. Just read that Flying Horse area may get hundreds of new houses and then there is the proposed development near Fountain. City would do well to clean up the urban blight from the 70s-80s - derelict strip centers, huge pot-holed parking lots... certain inner areas just seem to get seedier while the new and shiny goes in on the fringes.

[TCHP]

Downtown has been adding 500-1000 apartments a year for the past few years. There have been a few small grocers that have opened downtown as well. Widner Field, the USOC Museums, and Robson area have become significant recreational venues and the selection on restaurants and cafes continues to grow. With revitalization of the Ivywild area, the shut down of Drake and its subsequent redevelopment, along with evaluation of rail stations, downtown density will continue to grow

Overall, the city has been adding 2500-4500 apartments a year. The amount of construction on top of Fillmore hill near the Centennial intersection is amazing. While not exactly "downtown" it certainly isn't far from it. The road extension from Centennial Blvd to the Fontanero exit is also complete.

To orgnkat's point, here are still significant middle class areas on the east side of the city that could use more financial development after it all bailed out for the north side. But the demographics aren't there to attract the money.

[Vision67]

It seems to me Colorado Springs can sprawl East all the way to Kansas. The limiter is water.

However, the traffic congestion, especially moving east-west is awesome. Just witness Woodman Road at 8 AM.

[otowi]

I do think there has been some filling in and the expansion at city limits has slowed due to water and other issues. I also think there has been a small but measurable improvement in commute thoroughfares.

[Mike from back east]

TCHP, glad to hear about apartments in the downtown area. I used to wish developers would build 10-20 mid-rise apartment/condo towers of 15-25 stories each to populate the downtown with enough residents to create the critical mass needed to attract the businesses for a walkable, in-city lifestyle.

I had such an existence back in the mid-1970s in what's called Crystal City, VA, (Arlington, VA), which is adjacent to National Airport. Had an interstate on one side and a subway stop in the basement or a block away. Amtrak stop nearby in DC or Alexandria, VA. Short bicycle ride to the Pentagon, even walkable. Walk to all sorts of shopping and eats; I used to walk to the eye doctor, grocer, movies, eats, cleaners.

What I envisioned for the downtown was to take a lot of the area south of City Auditorium / City Hall, raze it, and build the residential towers. A small city within the larger city. It would include a truly full-sized supermarket on the ground floor of one of the buildings, bigger and better than the old Safeway way up in the Old North End Neighborhood.