As a part of our commitment to creating a better Colorado Springs, ALC is proud to be currently working with several non-profit organizations or non-profit-funds. We have a great deal of compassion for each of the organizations that we work with and have happily offered discounts on our services. Currently on the boards (er…. ping pong table) are the following:
Springs Rescue Mission: Landscape Architect for the Phase II of Master Plan. Sub-Consultant to Echo Architecture (Phase I completed as a sub-consultant to RTA Architects). (Landscape Development Plan Drawings and Landscape Construction Drawings). Link: www.springsrescuemission.org
Springs Food Rescue: Landscape Architect and Civil Engineer for new facility located at the southern end of Institute Street near Downtown (Civil and Landscape Development Plan and Construction Drawings). Link: www.coloradospringsfoodrescue.org
Concrete Coyote (Couch): Planner and Civil Engineer for the Planned Learning Lab and Workshop for the non-profit organization. (Rezoning, Civil Engineering Development Plan Drawings and Civil Construction Drawings) Link: www.concretecouch.org
Working Fusion at Mill Street (Neighborhood): Land Surveyor, Planner, Civil Engineer and Landscape Architect for the 18-unit Tiny Home Development aimed to assist otherwise homeless individuals and small families. We are happy to be working with HB&A Architects and Planners on this exciting project. (Rezoning, Development Plan, and Construction Drawings). Link: kairosproject17.com
Beyond Colorado Springs, ALC is also proud to work with the Gateway Prayer Garden along I-25 in Fountain in creating a place for individuals of all religions to contemplate and pray. Link: www.gatewayprayergarden.org
Altitude Land Consultants is currently working with El Paso County Parks Department on two important master planning studies for our region. The following is an article by the Gazette about one of the projects, Jones Park. Original Article.
As Jones Park’s foreseeable future is plotted, some want to right a perceived wrong in the popular hub of trails in Colorado Springs’ southwest mountains, while others hope for the status quo. The 1,200-acre property, which came under El Paso County control in 2015, now is getting a master plan. The only certain priority is to protect the creature that made Jones Park a center of controversy in recent years. “Take no action that may adversely impact the Greenback Cutthroat Trout,” read the first bullet point of a slideshow presented in a meeting last week. When the fish was found in the Bear Creek watershed, an environmental review ensued, leading the U.S. Forest Service to close and realign treasured, multiuse paths, including the one known as Cap’n Jacks. The Forest Service’s Trails Unlimited crews finished the job last year after months of roundtable discussions between land managers and user groups. Jeff Webb, the county’s contracted project lead with Altitude Land Consultants, mentioned at last week’s meeting Jones Park’s “great history of planning,” as those roundtable talks earned a national award. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to disagree,” said Bastien Donzé, expressing a sentiment widely shared among mountain bikers. “We were promised new Jones was going to be as nice as old Jones, and it is not as nice.” Cap’n Jacks, formally called Trail 667, was “the best mountain biking trail in Colorado Springs” but has been replaced by something “very subpar,” Donzé said. Webb replied that the master planning process is a time to talk about improvements, but: “We certainly don’t hope folks treat it as a chance to rehash history and relitigate anything.” This is not the time for that, Jim Bensberg later agreed. “That was then, this is now,” said the president of the Colorado Motorcycle Trail Riders Association. “The reality is, what we have is quite nice.” Bensberg speaks for enthusiasts who had been barred from Jones Park for five years during the Forest Service’s review. Motorists prize the area for having the only singletrack open to them near city limits. “Our hope is that not much changes,” Bensberg said of the master plan. “We just hope the status quo is preserved, and everyone can continue to get along as we have for the last 60 or 70 years.” But sharing, or lack thereof, has been debated by Jones Park’s frequenters on foot and wheels. Could some conflict on some sections of the 5-mile network be resolved by mandating directional use? That question was posed at the meeting by Tony Boone, one of the West’s most highly regarded trail builders and a subcontractor on the master plan. But cyclists and motorists alike sharply rebuked that notion, saying they would rather have more mileage than what Boone described as “optimized use.” Another issue he addressed was the emergence of user-created “rogue” trails. “I find that’s often a sign that people are looking for trails that aren’t existing,” he said. Boone, an outspoken critic of Trail Unlimited’s approach last year, backtracked on previous comments, saying he hadn’t seen Jones Park in 20 years. With some recon, he could recommend trail building — but not in places where sediment and human presence could harm the trout. “I think you’ll see us at least take a hard look at additional trails in Jones Park, but it has to meet conservation values and guidelines,” said Tim Wolken, director of the county’s Community Services. The master plan is to be completed in late spring and could be approved by county commissioners as early as April, Wolken said. That’s “fairly quickly for a master plan,” he recognized, reiterating that “dramatic” changes aren’t expected in the guiding document meant for the next five to seven years. “It may come out with nobody 100 percent happy,” Boone said. “I think that’s the definition of compromise, right?”
For 10 years, ALC has been on a constant growth cycle. We are often asked if we’re hiring, the answer is always yes… for the right people. If you have a great work ethic and want to work for a dynamic firm in Denver or Colorado Springs, contact us at info@altitudelandco.com.
Ping Pong skills are not required, but awesomeness is. We’re always looking for passionate individuals for land surveying, civil engineering, landscape architecture and urban design teams.
Altitude Land Consultants proudly served as the landscape architect for both Phase I and Phase II for the Springs Rescue Mission. For Phase II, ALC serves as a sub-consultant to Echo Architecture.
The following was an article from the Colorado Springs Business Journal, dated March 13, 2019. Original Article
Springs Rescue Mission began construction on Phase II of its Homeless Resource Campus March 12. The groundbreaking ceremony took place at 5 W. Las Vegas St. The $5.5 million project includes a new 200-seat dining facility and a single-point-of-entry welcome center, according to a news release issued by the mission. The current dining facility seats 65 people at a time. “With 550 or more meals served a day, SRM often provides seven rotating meal periods, leaving many guests out in the cold for too long,” the release said. The new dining facility, scheduled to open in early 2020, will also have classrooms and workshops for culinary arts programs that will help men and women in work programs develop job skills. The new welcome center will have lockers available for safe storage of possessions. “Volunteers and staff will help guide guest to services that are helpful for their unique situations,” Travis Williams, chief development officer at Springs Rescue Mission said in the release. “They’ll be able to store their belongings in a secure storage facility, walking freely about campus without the burden of keeping their belongings safe.” Guests currently have access to 26 partner agencies on campus, “and by making the environment more secure and stable, more people will have access to the help they need,” the release said. GE Johnson, the Colorado Springs-based construction company, is contracted to build the dining hall and welcome center. The project is funded by Springs Rescue Mission’s Capital Campaign to Build a Community of Hope. Most of the funds used to complete this project came from private donations or from city and foundation grants, the release said. “Springs Rescue Mission strives to provide a safe, warm, and welcoming environment for the city’s most vulnerable,” Williams said. “The completion of our campus will provide better point-of-need care along with long-term restoration for homeless neighbors.”
The long-awaited Pike Ride has made it to Colorado Springs. This photograph includes our Director of Urban Design, John Olson, on a 2014 reconnaissance visit with Springs’ leaders to check out Denver’s B-Cycle. Per the photograph, we prefer to work.
Photo credit: Allen Beauchamp (Photograph includes Allen Beauchamp, Andrea Barker, John Olson, Jen Furda, Jill Gaebler and Aubrey Day)