Video Story
Watch VideoCity of Fountain is growing rapidly
Story By: David Ortiviz
Source: KOAA
Published Tue Feb 26, 2008, 06:05 PM MST
Updated Tue Feb 26, 2008, 09:49 PM MST
For months we've all heard about the housing market, the slowdowns, the foreclosures, but right here in our own backyard a bright spot. The city of Fountain is experiencing a surge in residential development.
Overall, the number of permits for new homes has skyrocketed since the mid-90s and the city now has a population of close to 30,000.
"Construction is almost 24 hours a day," said Bobbie Rorie, a Fountain resident. The pounding, pouring, and lifting are daily sights in Fountain. New homes are going up. "It seems like they sell as soon as they're built," she added.
Bobbie Rorie is a recent military transplant. "We moved here from Missouri because my husband is at Ft. Carson," said Rorie. And she's not alone. "I know next door they're military. On the other side of us they're military. There's a family down the street they're military," said Rorie.
The city's planning director says growth at Ft. Carson has meant growth for Fountain.
"Since the early 1990s Fountain has grown at a rapid pace," said Dave Smedsrud, Fountain Planning Director.
In 1990, only three new homes were built in Fountain. But by 1996, that number soared to 176. In 2005, again a drastic climb, with 669 new homes.
The next two years weren't as good, in fact new housing permits dropped by 35% last year, from the previous year.
"But that is significantly less than the rest of the region, they're down ever more," said Smedsrud.
Last year Fountain got 13% of all the new residential building permits in El Paso County, even though they only make up about 3% of the county's overall population.
And Smedsrud is optimistic about the future, with the addition of 15,000 news troops at Ft. Carson in the next few years.
"Fountain is projected to get the vast majority of new housing associated with absorbing those troops," said Smedsrud. He says that's because Fountain is close to the military base, and has the room to grow.
Smedsrud adds that the city has been growing by about 7% in population each year.
