Colorado Springs’ proposed 36-story high-rise sparks debate | Business

Colorado Springs has never had much of a downtown skyline, at least, not by other cities’ standards. Call it more of a lowline.

The 247-foot, 16-story Wells Fargo Tower that opened in 1990 is downtown’s tallest building and tallest in Colorado Springs history, city planning officials say. The First Bank and Colorado Square buildings and The Antlers hotel, all 14 floors, and the 13-story Plaza of the Rockies south tower help make up downtown’s skyline, such as it is.

Compare the Springs with, say, Omaha, Neb., where insurance giant Mutual of Omaha broke ground last year on a 44-story downtown headquarters that will join the 45-story First National Bank building a few blocks away. The 801 Grand office building spans 44 floors in downtown Des Moines, Iowa.

Oklahoma City’s downtown is home to the 50-story Devon Energy Center, which would be dwarfed by a California developer’s jaw-dropping plan to erect the 134-story, 1,907-foot Legends Tower that would surpass New York City’s One World Trade Center and become the nation’s tallest building, according to multiple news reports.

But Colorado Springs has something those flatland communities can only dream of: a majestic mountain backdrop, with breathtaking views of Pikes Peak, Cheyenne Mountain and the Front Range. Mountain scenery has been the city’s trademark since it was founded in 1871 at the foot of Pikes Peak.

For years, civic leaders, government officials and business people have touted Colorado Springs’ natural beauty as what sets it apart from other cities. Residents pay extra for homes with a view and have been known to add windows in bedrooms, bathrooms and even closets to capture an extra peek at the mountains. And when poet and author Katharine Lee Bates visited Pikes Peak in 1893, she was so inspired by its “purple mountain majesties” that she penned “America the Beautiful.”

“You live here, in part, because of the mountains,” said Matt Mayberry, cultural services manager and director of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum.

So, when local private equity firm The O’Neil Group and an out-of-town partner late last year announced plans to construct a 36-story, nearly 500-unit apartment building in downtown Colorado Springs, it set the stage for a clash of values in a community where views are a cherished amenity.

The high-rise would stand 20 floors and as much as 153 feet taller than the Wells Fargo Tower — though an O’Neil Group official says the structure’s design isn’t final and it could wind up being a little shorter than 36 stories. In any case, in the area of downtown Colorado Springs where the 36-story building has been proposed, there are no height restrictions.

Long accustomed to unobstructed mountain vistas, however, some residents fear the solitary high-rise would dominate the city skyline — as out of place as an amusement ride at the Garden of the Gods park or an escalator adjacent to the Manitou Incline.

“I think it will be an…