From his real estate office not far from one of the main gates of Fort Carson, Brad Jonas could not help but dream of 1993.
“Houses were on the market for about an hour,” Jonas said Thursday.
News that a total of between 8,000 and 12,000 new soldiers, including the 4th Infantry Division, would be moving to Fort Carson over the next few years made the Merit Co. agent wonder if the frenzy of 1993 would return.
“Gosh, I hope so,” Jonas said. “I think I’m in the right business at the right time.”
On Wednesday, Army Secretary Francis Harvey said the four-brigade, 4th Infantry would move to Fort Carson and the 5,200-troop 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment would head to Fort Hood, Texas.
Fred Crowley, an economist with the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, estimated that the new troops’ presence would bring 4,000 new jobs and an additional $1 billion in annual spending to the Colorado Springs area.
“This is a major, major impact,” Crowley said, estimating that the population in the area would grow by 7 percent over the next two years.
Much of the economic benefit, he said, would be felt in the housing markets and at restaurants and bars in Fountain, Security-Widefield and southeast Colorado Springs.
Army officials are unclear about the exact number of troops that will be permanently stationed at Fort Carson.
Fort Carson spokesman Lt. Justin Journeay said the post is still planning to host the 3,700 soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
The 2nd Brigade, currently deployed in Iraq, is relocating to Fort Carson from South Korea.
An advance team has already arrived to prepare for the return of troops starting next month.
Army spokesman Col. Joseph Curtin said that eventually, Fort Carson will be home to the four brigades of the 4th Infantry, but not the 2nd Brigade.
If 2nd Infantry members’ job skills match those needed for the four brigades, Curtin said, they’ll stay but will become members of the 4th Infantry.
“In the end, and there’s no timeline that’s really firm here, there will be four brigades there, and the patches of those brigades would be 4th Infantry Division. That’s it. Where that patch of the 2nd Infantry goes, we haven’t announced it yet,” Curtin said.
In Fountain, which has grown from 12,500 to 20,300 residents over the past 10 years, city officials expect additional growth. Undeveloped land there is abundant in supply, unlike the largely built-out southern end of Colorado Springs.
“Our expectation is tremendous,” said Dave Smedsrud, deputy city manager for Fountain.
Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.
