Construction on the new Pikes Peak Summit Complex officially began Monday as officials broke ground on the project during a special ceremony.
The event included a symbolic, controlled blast at the summit of Pikes Peak.
The new 38,000-square-foot complex will include a newly designed and constructed Visitor Center to include a mechanical space and the Colorado Springs Utilities communications facility. According to the City of Colorado Springs, the U.S. Army will also be constructing a new high-altitude research laboratory, which the Army will fund.
The current Summit House will remain open to visitors throughout the construction of the new complex.
The new Summit Complex project is a collaboration between the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the State Historic Preservation Office, tribal representatives, and the summit’s five major permit holders. Those permit holders are the City of Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak, The Broadmoor’s Pikes Peak Cog Railway, the U.S. Army High Altitude Research Laboratory, and Colorado Springs Utilities.
According to the City, the project will cost an estimated $50 million and will be funded in part by reserves from Pikes Peak, an enterprise of the city that generates revenue though toll fees and concession sales, revenue bonds taken by Pikes Peak, and donations, both public and private.
For more information visit: pikespeakcolorado.com.
