new nature center could see construction in el paso county, Colorado

Responding to population growth on the north end of Colorado’s El Paso County, public input is being sought on a project that will see the construction of a new nature center there.

El Paso County already has two such centers up and running: The Bear Creek Nature Center is located at 325 Bear Creek Road in Colorado Springs.  Built in 1976, that facility measures around 9,000 square feet and recently underwent a $250,000 upgrade.

The other such facility is the Fountain Creek Nature Center at 320 Pepper Grass Lane in the city of Fountain. The 4,100 square foot building underwent a $600,000 expansion some six years ago.

Both one-story facilities house a variety of educational, visual arts, and interactive exhibitions designed to promote a better understanding of El Paso County’s natural surroundings.

County officials have yet to decide exactly where the new nature center will be built, but it is thought that it could go up in either the Black Forest Regional Park in Colorado Springs or the Fox Run Regional Park, also in Colorado Springs.

A third potential site would have it built in the Pineries Open Space, a more than 1,000-acre wooded area purchased by the county in 2010.

Ideas and plans for the new nature center are currently being reviewed by El Paso County staff as well as the Denver-based Altitude Land Consultants, a surveying, land development, and urban design firm.

By Garry Boulard

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