Nor’wood

The Nor’wood Development Group was founded in 1978 when David Jenkins, a Colorado Springs native, left his work at a Tejon Street clothing store to start this new real estate development firm. Nor’wood owns, develops, and manages real estate in the Pikes Peak region. The firm began by developing the Nor’wood neighborhood in what was then the northern periphery of the city, adjacent to Briargate and Chapel Hills Mall. A part of this project became Cottonwood Park, a recreational amenity serving the northern neighborhoods. Since its initial success, which required navigating the disastrous Savings and Loan crisis on the 1980s that bankrupted many developers, the firm has created master planned communities such as Wolf Ranch in the northeast and Mesa Ridge in the south. Nor’wood also was the lead developer for the First & Main shopping complex on Powers Boulevard in the city’s east. In 2014 Nor’wood purchased the Banning Lewis Ranch and worked with City Council to reduce regulations and development fees on the site; the firm is now poised to develop the largest suburban settings on the city’s eastern periphery. With these projects and numerous other commercial and apartment complexes, Nor’wood has been one of the largest developers of suburban Colorado Springs and greatly shaped its residential and commercial landscape. In addition to these suburban projects, the company has become a key player in revitalizing the downtown urban core, with projects such as the Plaza of the Rockies, Eco 333 apartments, the Alamo Complex, and soon to be major projects around the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum and the Weidner Field downtown stadium that will be home for the Switchbacks Soccer Club. Nor’wood donated land for the Olympic Museum and has also entered into a partnership with UCCS to develop its downtown campus in the company’s Alamo Complex. Founder. The family created the Nor’wood Foundation that has contributed over $7 million to local philanthropic and religious organizations. Nor’wood Development Group is one of the city’s most successful real estate companies.

Generously Submitted by Dr. John Harner, Professor of Geography & Environmental Studies, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs