Work could begin later this spring on the building of a 32,000 square foot visitor center that will go up at the Colorado Springs-based U.S. Air Force Academy.
The project will also include the building of in excess of 190,000 square feet of office and retail space, not to mention a hotel with 375 rooms.
The Academy has now secured the additional private funding it needs to launch the project.
As planned, the visitors center will house a grand atrium and any number of interactive Air Force and Space Force exhibitions. The hotel and conference center, comprising some 10 acres, will additionally include a spa, gift shop, and outdoor swimming pool.
Uniquely, the hotel, to be built just to the east of the academy’s north gate and managed by Coral Tree Hospitality of Denver, will also include the first in-hotel flight simulator in the country.
It is thought that the new visitor center may attract up to 800,000 visitors annually. Both the center and hotel are expected to be completed by early 2024.
By Garry Boulard
