City council advances 3,100-acre industrial annexation between Fort Carson and Ray Nixon Power Plant
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - More talk about a major annexation outside Colorado Springs is underway.
Developers for the "Southern Colorado Rail Park" want to build on a site located between Fort Carson and the Ray Nixon Power Plant.
The idea is to create an industrial park that would boost manufacturing and create more than 7,000 new jobs in the region.
On Tuesday, the Colorado Springs City Council voted unanimously in favor of the annexation.
The project dates back to 2018 when the city's former mayor, John Suthers, began promoting it.
Suthers spoke before the council, sharing his vision of a rail line extension that will bring industrial and manufacturing businesses back to the area.
"We had a fairly significant manufacturing base at one time in this community. And as a longtime resident of Colorado Springs, I watched most of that go overseas," Suthers said.
Suthers, the 41st mayor of Colorado Springs from 2015 to 2023, spoke before city council members on Tuesday regarding the annexation of the potential manufacturing site.
"I have remained professionally involved in promoting the project since I stepped down as mayor. We need to broaden our economic base to once again include manufacturing," Suthers said.
The Southern Colorado Rail Park will be a 3,100-acre complex, owned by Edward C. Levy Co.
Developers are touting it as a benefit to Fort Carson and saying the Mountain Post would get a more resilient rail connection.
The main selling point is the potential creation of more than 7,500 new jobs.
The rail park would be a mega-site, attracting manufacturers and warehouses by offering easy access to railroad freight.
Suthers believes there isn't a better place for it, "To have it wedged between Fort Carson and the Ray Nixon Power Plant, not visible from I-25. You're not going to find a better site for industrial zoning than this."
If this annexation passes on its second reading at City Hall, construction on the industrial park would begin this year.
Commercial development is projected to begin in 2030 and cover 900 acres, mostly on land adjacent to the rail line.
Further industrial development and reclamation would take place over the next 15 years.
