Data center developer says it is ‘evaluating’ partnership after tense Colorado Springs City Council meeting
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Springs City Council voted to postpone a decision on appeals of the Planning Commission’s decision on a proposed development known as Project Taurus.
The decision on the appeals will now be heard on April 13, 2027. Raeden, the company behind the data center, says it is evaluating its partnership in Colorado Springs.
RELATED COVERAGE: Colorado Springs City Council postpones decision on Project Taurus appeals until April 2027
During the City Council meeting yesterday, September 17, at Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts, the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) arrested four people after a scuffle broke out in the audience.
RELATED COVERAGE: Four arrested after disturbance at city council data center meeting, CSPD says
A local activist group, Integrity Matters, is one of the leading voices in opposition to the project.
They said the individuals who were involved were not affiliated with their group, and said Integrity Matters doesn't support violence or disrespect.
“They had a right to be heard, and they chose to be heard in that way, and they accepted the consequences of how they were heard. That’s fine. That’s what the First Amendment is about,” said Kat Gayle, Chief Legal Counsel for Integrity Matters.
KRDO13 asked the City Council administration if they are considering changes to the way larger venue meetings are held outside of Council chambers to prevent future incidents.
City Council said at this point, there is no official conversation regarding this, but they are always looking for ways to be more efficient. They added that they try to conduct these meetings as similarly as possible to the standard City Council meetings.
RELATED COVERAGE: Residents have mixed feelings on Colorado Springs City Council’s decision to postpone Project Taurus appeals decision
Raeden released a statement on its website saying its team was disappointed by parts of yesterday's meeting that were interrupted. They also said they are continuing to answer questions from City Council and residents, while also "carefully evaluating whether or not this is the right partnership for RAEDEN."
Raeden's full statement can be found below:
"RAEDEN, a data center developer specializing in the adaptive reuse of existing buildings for AI and enterprise computing infrastructure, issued the following statement following the Colorado Springs City Council’s vote on September 17th to postpone a decision on its Project Taurus development at 1615 Garden of the Gods Road until April 2027.
We were deeply disappointed that portions of yesterday’s hearing were disrupted by conduct that at times crossed the line from passionate disagreement into threats and intimidation directed at our team and others participating in the public process.
We have worked in good faith over many months to address the questions Colorado Springs residents have raised about this project. Project Taurus is the adaptive reuse of a site already zoned for a data center in a light industrial corridor, which would generate an estimated $1.7 billion in total economic impact for the region, including $115 million in sales and use tax revenue in the first year alone, up to $942 million in projected sales and use tax over 20 years, and property tax revenue estimated to exceed $1.2 million annually starting in 2029. The project would create approximately 60 to 100 high-paying permanent positions and roughly 600 union construction jobs, without requesting a dollar in federal, state, or local subsidies or tax benefits.
We understand that the Colorado Springs community has concerns about how Project Taurus will impact the neighborhood, particularly with regards to sound attenuation and residential utility rates. We initiated significant efforts to address these concerns beyond code requirements, including ensuring no increase in costs to CSU residential ratepayers, agreeing to continual sound reporting with the city, and full payment of all infrastructure and operational costs.
Core to RAEDEN’s ethos is our commitment to pursuing our data center developments in close and continuing partnership with the communities we are a part of.
We are proud of the partnerships we’ve established with the community of Colorado Springs, especially those intended to serve the next generation of residents: a $300,000 commitment to build a new playground at Jackson Elementary and a $50,000 commitment for a new computer lab at the Colorado Springs School of Technology. We intend to honor these commitments regardless of the outcome of this process.
Being a good and honest partner, whether it’s to our contractors, our stakeholders, or our neighbors, is intrinsic to who we are, both as a company and as individuals; however, relationships must go both ways.
RAEDEN will use the additional time the Council provided to continue engaging with the community and City to answer outstanding questions, while carefully evaluating whether or not this is the right partnership for RAEDEN."
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