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The City of Fountain has 6 distinct commercial development areas to encourage business fulfillment for job creation and avail community goods and services. As the second-largest city in El Paso county, Colorado, the City of Fountain is experiencing strong business development interest. As such it’s important for private development to realize the auxiliary agencies that may interplay in these areas for site development approvals; these agencies include CDOT, Class I Railways, El Paso County, or Fort Carson Army Installation.
To learn more about the 6 distinct commercial development areas in the city, see below:
South Academy Highlands – retail and lifestyle services commercial development area
The City established South Academy Highlands as an Urban Renewal Area in 2014, through a City Annexation with El Paso County. In September 2020, the City completed the Venetucci Road transportation improvement project to extend Venetucci north to B-Street and south to S. Academy Boulevard and US 85/87. In the interest of enhancing public safety, commuter accessibility, and a commitment of support to retail services for the community-at-large, the Fountain Urban Renewal Authority and UTW Academy Development, LLC partnered to fund and construct the $3.5M transportation improvement project with the City.
SAH is comprised of a three phased development, which includes:
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PH I – 97% built out with approx. 5 acres remaining for commercial development along the west side frontage of S. Academy Blvd.
- PH II – approximately 32 acres resided as vacant land well positioned in an ideal location for commercial development along the east side with I-25 frontage.
- PH III – approximately 23 acres resides as vacant land along the west side rear frontage of Venetucci Road. This land has topographic shifts and located in unincorporated El Paso County ; zoned for mixed use/ residential development.
Visit SAH Site Plan/ Brochure to learn more, managed by Legend Partners LLP on behalf of UTW.
Opportunity Zone – N. US85 retail and lifestyle service commercial development area
Census Tract #45.01 in the City of Fountain, was designated as an Opportunity Zone, by in part to the 2017 tax reform Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; establishing the Opportunity Zone program. This N. US85 Tract of the city represents the Commercial Spine of the Greater Fountain Valley, serving a population of 103,536 within El Paso County.
There are 178 acres identified and available for development within Fountain Colorado designation area. This area has already begun to spur private investment activity and a regional effort towards investor awareness. A portion of the N. US85 corridor does reside within an Urban Renewal Area as of 2008.
Visit Opportunity Zone site page to learn more about,
- Census Tract #45.01 land sites available for development within the City of Fountain
- The Colorado Spring Regional Opportunity Zones Prospectus
- Resources/Links as to the federal legislation designation of the Opportunity Zone program
- As part of the U.S. Congressional 2017 tax reform package (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act), the Opportunity Zone program was enacted to address uneven economic recovery and persistent lack of growth that have left many communities across the country behind since the Great Recession.
INFILL/Mesa Ridge –
light industrial, mixed use, retail and lifestyle service commercial development area
The INFILL area resides in the Mesa Ridge corridor of the city. It represents approximately 367 acres of prime land for optimized commercial development in our community and region.
The INFILL area is surrounded by hearty transportation accessibility with Interstate I-25, US 85/87 HWY, and Mesa Ridge Parkway/Powers Blvd. The Mesa Ridge corridor resembles a lifestyle nexus that avails resident walkability, trails, and mobility connections to the Fountain Regional Park flanking US 85/87 HWY, Metcalfe Park in Olde Town, and Colorado Springs MSA.
In 2020, City Council adopted the INFILL Tax Sharing Agreement as a strategic means to achieve sustainable development over the duration of full-build out attainment of the 367 acres of land and to stem the leakage occurring in our community.
To learn more about the INFILL/Mesa Ridge commercial development area, please view:
Olde Town –
historic central business district with community events; retail and lifestyle services commercial development area
Olde Town represents the historical central business district of Fountain. As with many national cities, the historical center of activity had experienced a loss of its patrons due to suburban sprawl. In recent decade(s), the city has continued to experience double-digit growth. As such, a Town Center revival has emerged as new neighborhood community residents seek to embrace its legacy cultural roots; availing a quality sense of place within Olde Town.
The City established the district as an Urban Renewal Area in 2008 and continues to encourage small business entry and right-sized commercial development for this historic area with 2020 programs recently adopted by City Council.
Visit the
Olde Town Revitalization site page to learn more.
Front Range Dual-Service Rail Park –
light and heavy industrial commercial development area; harmonious user base with Fort Carson Army Installation
The Front Range Dual-Service (FRDS) Rail Park of Southern Colorado will support light and heavy industrial business development entry. The site(s) are located on over 3,000 acres of rural land situated between the Colorado Springs Nixon Power Plant (CSU) and Fort Carson Army Installation. In 2015, the City established the Charter Oak Urban Renewal Area as a means to support the rail park vision for the city and southern Colorado region.
The foundational premise of the project is to extend an existing CSU dual service rail spur (UP and BNSF) that will provide a catalyst for commercial development and job creation under a public-private partnership (P3) and strengthen the military resiliency of Fort Carson; whereas availing a secondary rail service access on behalf of rapid deployment capabilities.
Under the auspice of the 2018 Memorandum of Understanding, the collective P3 entities formed an Oversight Committee to provide administrative guidance and governance of a project envisioned to avail dual-service rail sites as of 2025.
Visit the
Front Range Dual-Service Rail Park site page to learn more.
You will be redirected to Charter Oak URA site page housed with FURA.
Pikes Peak International Raceway – motorsports/ entertainment venue, homeland security training center, and viable commercial development area
The Raceway is located at the southern most point in the city. It originally began as a dirt horse track during the early 19th Century and was converted in late 1990’s to become a major auto racing facility to serve Indy and NASCAR leagues. In 2006 era, the track was removed by the leagues’ competition schedule but still continues to serve as a hearty test-n-tune facility to the motorsports industry.
Today, a wide range of amateur racing leagues, tournaments, and general entertainment groups use the outdoor venue during the peak season(s) in Southern Colorado that draws large crowds and crews through the City of Fountain. The area consists of an oval track, grandstands, press boxes, private garage rentals, and a homeland security firing range. It is surrounded by an additional 200 acres to support auxiliary business development.
Visit the
Pikes Peak International Raceway to learn more.
Additional areas to support business development concentration include:
Bandley Drive is a frontage, highly visible roadway which runs parallel between I-25 and Fountain Creek. The area includes several land sites for development but does entail overhead and underground easement constraints as well as environmental awareness. In addition, the area houses the
SoCO Regional Industrial Center, a 362,361 SF former Apple manufacturing facility plus an additional 49 acre pad site. The facility is being renewed through small business fulfillment efforts underway as a city partnership effort with the property owner.
Gateway is located at x-128 and straddles both the east and west sides of I-25, serving as a first impression entry to our city. The area is zoned as an interstate commercial and light-industrial quadrant for business development. It lies in between the Charter Oak URA
(Fort Carson Gate 19) and the historic Olde Town district.
Visit GIS site page to learn more about commercial development areas in Fountain.
Visit www.FURACO.org to learn more about the Fountain Urban Renewal Authority and its districts/areas.
Contact Us to discuss Commercial Development Areas within the City of Fountain in further detail.