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Colorado Springs Real Estate
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Free Relocation CD NORAD Peterson AFB Schriever AFB USAFA
Colorado Springs Military Economic Impact
Military still fuels local engine
One out of three people in Springs linked to defense dollars in fiscal 2001
By John Diedrich
The Gazette
The military poured $2.67 billion into the Colorado Springs economy in 2001, again making it the single biggest economic machine in the area, according to figures released by the bases last week.
The military's impact, measured from Oct. 1, 2000, to Sept. 30, 2001, - the military's fiscal year - was about $200 million higher than it was in the preceding 12 months, primarily because of boosts in pay and construction on the area's five installations.
The figure includes payroll, contracts and services and other dollars spent by the military and its employees in the community.
The five bases had 41,672 employees - 29,218 active-duty, reserves and cadets and another 12,454 civilian employees - as of Sept. 30, 2001, close to what it was in the previous year.
The military had the most employees of any sector in town, according to statistics from local economist Dave Bamberger. The next-highest category is tourism, with 14,689 jobs or 12 percent of the total. To put that in perspective, Fort Carson's active-duty population is higher than all tourism jobs.
While the military is still the biggest economic gorilla in town, the figures continue a recent trend: Its share of the economy is dropping as other sectors boom.
In 2001, the military and local defense contractors accounted for 35 percent of the economy, Bamberger said. That figure has been declining a point or so each year for several years and is down sharply from 25 years ago.
In the 1970s, the military accounted for about 70 percent of the economy. Local leaders thought it was dangerous to be so dependant on military spending and sought to diversify the economy, specifically drawing high-tech jobs, the sports industry and nonprofit organizations. Still, the military remains strong.
"Put it this way: One out of every three people employed here is employed as a military person or as a person directly supported by defense dollars," Bamberger said.
Bamberger expects the military's share of the economy to continue to shrink, but that could change if Colorado Springs lands Northern Command.
The new homeland defense command likely would bring only a few hundred jobs, but it could draw spin-off work.
Colorado Springs is in line to be headquarters of the new missile defense mission, if it is approved.
Among bases in town, Fort Carson continues to have the biggest impact, pumping $1.1 billion into the +economy, up $69 million. Part of that impact is from new housing going up on post.
J.A. Jones, a North Carolina-based construction company, is building 840 units and renovating the post's 1,823 existing units.
At Peterson Air Force Complex, which includes Peterson and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, the economic impact increased by $33 million and the number of civilian employees grew by about 1,000. That boost is because of a new civilian contract in Cheyenne Mountain, officials said.
The Air Force Academy had a $43 million increase in its economic impact, to $541 million, largely because of an increase in construction and purchase of materials, supplies and equipment, the academy said.
The academy is remodeling its huge academic building and the Cadet Chapel.
At Schriever, the economic impact jumped from $294 million to $350 million, but that is because of a change in accounting, said Ed Parsons, spokesman for the base.
In past years, Schriever didn't include contracts from two tenant groups on the base.
Schriever also is seeing a construction boom. A child-care center and fitness center were finished recently.
Work is planned for an addition to the headquarters building and the fire station, new security facilities and a medical center.
Copyright © 2001-2002, The Gazette
