Will CoS eventually become a Denver "southern" suburb? (Colorado Springs: real estate, foreclosures)

[DoodlemomCoS]

I'm just wondering if the sprawl from Denver through castlerock is eventually going to lead to one gigantic front range suburb that eventually includes CoS. I see posts popping up every few months here pretty regularly on if its feasible to do the commute daily between cos and Denver (to which I shake my head at now that I live here and know how "fun" that drive is even for just the serious medical appointments). I would think some of the topography (Palmer divide) would limit this growth but who knows. I feel like more folks are heading here but wanting either the amenities of Denver or they have a job up there and I feel that's encouraging this growth. Is real estate cost the main driver? Thoughts?

[LHS79]

Originally Posted by DoodlemomCoS

I'm just wondering if the sprawl from Denver through castlerock is eventually going to lead to one gigantic front range suburb that eventually includes CoS. I see posts popping up every few months here pretty regularly on if its feasible to do the commute daily between cos and Denver (to which I shake my head at now that I live here and know how "fun" that drive is even for just the serious medical appointments). I would think some of the topography (Palmer divide) would limit this growth but who knows. I feel like more folks are heading here but wanting either the amenities of Denver or they have a job up there and I feel that's encouraging this growth. Is real estate cost the main driver? Thoughts?

I think the State bought a lot of land around Greenland for open space a few years back to make sure this never happens.


People think is a wise decision to pay $20K less on a house on C/S then spend 4 hours a day going to/from Denver.

[Gorges]

Google John Malone and Greenland Ranch.

[PA2UK]

I can see the land between them being fully developed, unless it's true the state bought a lot of it to make sure it doesn't happen. However, I can't see lots of people commuting between the two. The whole purpose of the development would be to give people more suburb living options in between the two, so they wouldn't have to live all the way down in the Springs and make that awful, ridiculous commute to Denver every week day. They could live somewhere in between Castle Rock and Larkspur, for example. Of course, the main benefit to that would be if it was cheaper to live there, which it wouldn't necessarily be. The main reason people want to live in CS is because it's less expensive.

Or, it would give people who work in CS more options too - there's not really much divide between Northgate, Gleneagle and Monument anymore. Once that's done, where will they look next? They could expand in other directions (and they are) but that won't satisfy people who work in CS but also want to be closer to Denver for more things to do on the weekend.

[otowi]

There are some pretty sizable tracks of land that are closed to development - they've been turned into open spaces, etc. So I don't think it will ever fill in to that extent south of Larkspur or in the Lonetree area.

[smdensbcs]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

The main reason people want to live in CS is because it's less expensive.

I agree that's part of it but I also think general "quality" of life factors are also in play for many of us who prefer the Springs to Denver. I can have a great house in a great neighborhood in a great school district in Colorado Springs and walk to hiking trails in foothills and also have a 12-15 minutes commute to my downtown COS office. That simply does not exist in Denver. It may exist in Boulder but then I probably paid 3x for my house, so in that sense yes I chose COS because it is "less expensive" vis-à-vis Boulder. The quality of life factors I have here in COS are simply not physically or geographically achievable in Denver. I lived in Denver from 1996-2000 so I know the positives/negatives of Denver. Less expensive houses in COS are one of only 6-8 factors for which I prefer living in COS to living in Denver. Don't get me wrong, I love many things about Denver, but living/commuting in Greater Denver can be a nightmare in many ways going well beyond the recent run up in house prices.


As to COS becoming a "suburb" of Denver, I doubt it but maybe. It'd probably require reliable high-speed light-rail to make that happen, like they have in all the other advanced industrialized countries, and I don't see that happening in this country or state any decade soon, but who knows.

[Kar54]

As a Denver Native who moved to COS in 1999 (in my late 40's then), it took a little getting used to. Now going on my 18th year here, Never say never, however, my intent would be not to return. Especially now that Denver is twice the size it was when I left.

Ironically, out of my entire family, only my middle brother who lives in Thornton is there. All the rest of us left.

More to the subject. I believe the Springs could become a Colorado version of the California Inland Empire than a suburb. Perhaps exburb is applicable. Hopefully not as trashy as Riverside/San Bernardino.

I think Denver is a great city, just not for us!

[smdensbcs]

Originally Posted by Kar54

I believe the Springs could become a Colorado version of the California Inland Empire than a suburb.

I need to be careful here. The Los Angeles area is surrounded by a number of different let's call them "regions." There's Orange County. There's San Diego. There's the so-called Inland Empire. There's Santa Barbara and the Central Coast. Other than Colorado Springs being an hour or so from Denver, I don't really see an analogy with any of the Los Angeles "exurbs" or whatever you want to call them. Possibly San Diego is the closest analogy, as it is itself a smaller but historically proud military town which despite recent growth considers itself more relaxed (less traffic, etc) and more physically beautiful than Los Angeles. Most folks in San Diego DO NOT want to move to Los Angeles, couldn't pay them enough. Most folks in COS (who I know at least) DO NOT want to move to Denver, couldn't pay them enough. The Inland Empire is obviously less beautiful than the beach/coastal areas of Los Angeles. Colorado Springs on the other hand is CLOSER to the mountains than the vast majority of Denver. It is more like Boulder in that sense of easy access to nature/beauty. COS has a few gnarly streets that seem trashy (Fillmore, S. Nevada, etc) but on the whole the entire region is not exactly a hotbed of meth-addicts and foreclosures as far as the eye can see. Maybe I don't hang out in the parts of El Paso County that resemble the Inland Empire. Does Riverside have an equivalent of the Broadmoor neighborhood where some houses go for $10M+ like in Beverly Hills?

[DrDog]

I once read an article about future "mega metropolises", in which nearby cities will become giant city I.e LA-San Diego, Phoenix-Tucson, Denver-Fort Collins-C.S. etc.

[juniper johnson]

I think that someday it will but probably not in our lifetimes.