About Us

THE CITADEL

The Citadel is positioned in the geographic center of Colorado Springs, Colorado, the second-largest city in the state. Colorado Springs is seventy miles south of Denver and forty miles north of Pueblo, Colorado. The dominate shopping center in the market, The Citadel is located at the intersection of Academy Boulevard and Platte Avenue (U.S. Highway 24).

The Citadel, originally opening in 1972, underwent a complete renovation and expansion in 1995, adding the first Dillard’s to open in the state of Colorado. The center is currently anchored by Dillard’s, JCPenney and Burlington Coat Factory department stores, and offers 150 specialty stores.

Colorado Springs is located in an area called the Pikes Peak Region and includes the nearby communities of Manitou Springs, Monument, Palmer Lake, Woodmoor, Black Forest, Woodland Park, Gleneagle, Fountain, Security and Widefield.

The city’s growth has been based on the marketing of its natural resources and quality of life resources. City fathers have promoted the area as the gateway to the Rocky Mountains and have established Colorado Springs as a major tourist destination. On the even of the United States entry into World War II, civic leaders of Colorado Springs offered free land to the federal government for a military installation to provide a needed boost to the local economy. Camp Carson was installed in 1941, followed by Peterson Air Force Base in 1942. During the next three decades, the region was selected for the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1954, the North American Air Defense (NORAD) in 1996, and the Falcon Air Force Base and the Consolidated Space Operations Center in the 1980s. Today, military and defense-related industries contributed over $2 billion to the local economy. More than 40,000 people work at the local installations and approximately 1000,000 jobs are defense-related. Almost 25 percent of personal income as military-related, including 28,000 retirees receiving over $94 million in retirement benefits annually.

Beginning in the 1970s, the city has further diversified the economy by attracting many high-technology firms to the region. Major firms headquartered or located in Colorado Springs include Intel, MCI, Hewlett-Packard, Lockheed Martin, Western Forge, Schlage Lock, Atmel, Quantum, Progressive Insurance, Oracle, and Ford Credit Corporation.

Colorado Springs is also home to several hundred not-for-profit organizations, including the national headquarters for Junior Achievement, the United States Olympic Committee, and Focus on the Family. Overall, these organizations employ nearly 13,000 people with an annual payroll of over $55 million. In addition to the United States Olympic Committee, Colorado Springs is also the location of its premier training facility, the Olympic Training Center. The center employees over 500 people, and is used by over 18,000 athletes annually. The center is located just 2 miles from The Citadel.