Construction is underway on the Vineyard Research Park, also known as Project Primestone, a proposed high tech graphics card testing facility on Friday, Oct. 10, 2026. Residents have filed appeals against the development, protesting what they see as a data center. (Alex Edwards, The Gazette)
After the dust settled from a dramatic city council meeting about a proposed artificial intelligence data center in Colorado Springs, wary residents are turning their attention to another high tech and potentially resource-intensive development.
Known as Project Primestone or the Vineyards Research Park in city documents, the development seeks to build a pair of 110,000-square-foot buildings that will serve as a graphics card testing laboratory.
While project documents submitted to the city say the development is not a data center, residents opposed to the project see it as such. Like data centers, this facility will require a large amount of power, utilize a closed-loop cooling system and need large chillers to prevent the computers inside from overheating.
The project was administratively approved by the Planning Commission on Sept. 21, prompting six residents to file a joint appeal with the city on Sept. 30.
“I am particularly concerned that a project of this magnitude and utility demand could proceed through an administrative process without meaningful public review,” said Emily Sledge, who lives near Cheyenne Meadows Park roughly 10 minutes from the project. “Although the applicant states that the facility is not a data center, the label does not eliminate the potential impacts associated with operating large quantities of high-density computing equipment and the electrical, cooling, mechanical and backup power infrastructure required to support it.”
Construction is underway on the Vineyard Research Park, also known as Project Primestone, a proposed high-tech graphics card testing facility on Friday, Oct. 10, 2026. Residents have filed appeals against the development, protesting what they see as a data center. (Alex Edwards, The Gazette)
The appellants’ concerns are similar to those levied against Project Taurus, a proposed 50-megawatt artificial intelligence data center that might be built on the city’s west side.
The pair of buildings is anticipated to draw 100 megawatts each according to John Morgane, the CEO of Broadstone Net Lease, the company behind the development. Colorado Springs Utilities confirmed on Friday a company had requested a large load study for the project, seeking 200 MW of power. This does not mean the project will get 200 MW, as the study has yet to be completed.
During an investor earnings call the company hosted at the end of July, Morgane did little to dispel the notion that the new facility is a data center.
“The nomenclature that we use is very intentional relative to what the tenant is using it for,” he said. “This will look and feel like a data center for others in the sense of if it was going to have a different tenant that was using it.”
The tenant is not named but referred to as a “Fortune 20” customer, meaning it is one of the 20 most profitable businesses in the U.S., according to Fortune magazine.
Later in the call, Morgane trumpeted the earnings potential for this project, highlighting straight-line yields in double digits as well as an annual 3% increase in rental rates over several years.
Residents have said the proposed development is not a good fit for Colorado Springs. But the property has long been envisioned as a data-center campus.
As far back as 2010, Vince Colarelli, the head of a major construction company in Colorado Springs, highlighted the nearly 109-acre plot as a potential data center site. In 2013, the first development got underway, culminating in a 60,000-square-foot data center operated by SAP America. It is one of seven data centers in Colorado Springs.
Cars and trucks zoom past the T5@Colorado Data Center on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. The site, known as the Vineyard Research Park, has long been pitched as a data center campus. Residents learning about Project Primestone, a proposed 200 MW graphics card testing laboratory, have filed appeals against what they view as another data center. (Alex Edwards, The Gazette)
A building permit was issued by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department on Sept. 30 and carries a valuation of $67 million. Broadstone values the project at $303 million, The Gazette previously reported.
Appeals against the administrative approval were filed on Sept. 30 and will be followed by a planning commission hearing scheduled for Nov. 12, according to city staff.
