August/September Business View Magazine

128 129 “Colorado Springs is a city rising,” he states. “It was just named by U.S. News and World Report as the second best place in the country to live after Austin, Texas. It’s growing rapidly and it’s not as expensive as Denver. It’s a really exciting place, right now. And the quality of life, here, is just fan- tastic.” Going forward, Phillips says that his goals are to continue to promote the Airport’s many ad- vantages, and to focus on aviation and aerospace as a premier sector for development. “We have a tremendous workforce opportunity here, because there are five military bases,” he proffers. “The Air Force Academy, Peterson Air Force Base, Fort Carson, the North American Air Defense Com- mand, and Trevor Air Force Base are doing cutting edge things in the military with 300-600 military people transitioning out of the military, retiring or getting out, every month. Some of them are going to go back to Iowa, Minnesota, or other states, but there are a lot who like it here. So, we see the opportunities here to develop aerospace and aviation as an important sector.We’re hoping, by early next year, to have an airframe and power plant mechanic and trade school at the Airport, and we’re going to work with the community to develop those kinds of things. It’s an incredible time to be here.” LOCAL. LOYAL. COMMITTED. Bryan Construction is a premier Colorado contractor for commercial builds, renovations, multi-family housing, and Federal construction. We’ve earned clients’ respect by delivering projects on time and within budget. We hold our trade partners to stringent standards, and maintain a steady flow of communication to ensure minimal disruptions and smooth operations when timeliness is vital. Whether you’re in the conceptual stage or have drawings in hand, we’ll take care of all the details to turn your vision into reality. With Bryan, you have an organized, reliable, trustworthy partner, experienced in all project sizes, from minor renovations to large-scale new construction. At Bryan Construction, we’re not just about constructing buildings, we’re about building relationships. We look forward to working with you. Colorado Springs Denver Fort Collins Istanbul Contact us today! 719.632.5355 www.bryanconstruction.com paradieslagardere.com Paradies Lagardère is proud to be an engaged and dedicated partner of the Colorado Springs Airport. THE COLORADO SPRINGS AIRPORT PREFERRED VENDORS n Bryan Construction www.bryanconstruction.com n Paradies Lagrdère www.paradieslagardere.com hangar that they’re going to build, too, for work on military aircraft –mainly C-130s and other aircraft, as well.” The Airport also has a growing National World War II Aviation Museum. “It’s congressionally del- egated as one of 13 national aviation museums in the country,” Phillips explains. “They have a $13 million expansion that they’re starting to turn dirt on, real soon. On the heels of that, they have another $31 million expansion planned. They have 15, all-flying,World War II aircraft. They have another 15 to 30 aircraft that they could bring up here, once they get the expansion done. So, it’s a pretty exciting time in that regard.” “Colorado Springs is not a small piece of prop- erty,” Phillips adds. “We have 7,200 acres, total, and three runways.We’ve got the fifth longest commercial service runway in the country, which means that almost anything can land here. And the fact that we’ve got 7,200 acres means that almost anybody can develop here. So, we have an awful lot of space that we can continue to devel- op for aeronautical purposes, and for non-aero- nautical purposes. A couple of the businesses that we’re talking to want significant space, and they can’t get that at a lot of airports. That’s another thing that we think is a huge advantage here to bring in business.” “We also have a very aggressive incentive pro- gram,” Phillips remarks. “We have an enterprise zone and a foreign trade zone.We also have what we call a commercial aeronautical zone, a CAZ. The purpose of these incentive programs is to reduce or eliminate taxes. The commercial aero- nautical zone is probably our most aggressive form, and for aviation-related businesses, we can eliminate significant portions of the taxes they pay on construction, aeronautical-related tools, equipment, and parts that they buy. So, we can reduce the burden, pretty significantly, on a busi- ness that is interested in Colorado Springs.” Another inducement for continued growth at the Airport, according to Phillips, is the city, itself.

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