"I think that's a conservative number," Scott tells GlobeSt.com about the job increase. "That just is an estimate based on salaries from direct and indirect jobs. It doesn't include construction." S. Robert August, a real estate consultant, agrees that the impact on real estate will be impressive.
"It will have a bigger impact on Colorado Springs than those jobs would have in the Denver area," August tells GlobeSt.com. "Getting 8,000 new jobs in Colorado Springs would be like getting 20,000 or 25,000 new jobs in Denver. It's going to help the housing market, which has been pretty strong anyway. It's also going to help the apartment market, which has been pretty soft. Landlords have been lowering rental rates just to maintain cash flow. Now, rates will firm up," August says, although he doesn't expect to see a rash of construction because the growth will come in phases.
"It's also going to help retail, restaurants and grocery stores," August says. "And it's going to help the industrial market, because they'll need to fill warehouses with goods to meet the new demand. It's really going to help every type of commercial real estate in Colorado Springs."
Scott says the soldiers coming to Fort Caron represent a 40% increase in the military presence in the Springs. "Actually, we've pulled together a task force to look at the impact," Scott tells GlobeSt.com. "If you think about when you get a paycheck and write a check, that is where the impact will be. It's going to be on housing and eating and gasoline and banks. And if you look at the induced [jobs] created, people will be hiring attorneys and CPAs for their new businesses."
Also, the long-term impact is immeasurable in that it introduces people from all over the country to Colorado, he says. "You hear that story so often," Scott says. "People come here for some other reasons, whether it is recreation or lifestyle or the military and they stay. That's not true everywhere. That may not be a reason to stay in Grand Forks, ND, for example, because of their presence of missile bases."
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