REI, the suburban-Seattle outdoor equipment, sporting goods and apparel retailer, is expanding its lone Colorado Springs store and almost doubling its north-side presence.

The retailer, which occupies a roughly 24,000-square-foot building northwest of Academy Boulevard and Woodmen Road at 1376 E. Woodmen, paid nearly $3.8 million several months ago for a second, nearly 18,000-square-foot building at 1238 E. Woodmen, El Paso County land records show. The second building stands to the west and across REI’s parking lot.

A proposal submitted by REI to city officials shows it will remodel and renovate the newly purchased building and use it for additional retail space.

The retailer’s proposal also showed it would upgrade its parking lot and landscaping and create a walkway across the lot to link the two buildings.

REI contractors have begun remodeling the second building — gutting the interior of what had been a multi-tenant retail structure, permits filed with the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department show. A fitness studio and exercise equipment retailer had been among the building’s previous users.

The retailer had sought to expand in Colorado Springs “for quite some time in order to add more choices and options for gear and better serve its local members in the market,” REI spokeswoman Caitlin Goettler said via email.

The expanded space will house REI’s “action sports departments,” which include snow sports, cycling and climbing, she said. The space also will be home to gear rentals, along with a bike, ski and snowboard shop.

And for the first time since REI opened in the Springs in 1999, the new space will allow the retailer to offer stand-up paddleboards, kayaks and other watersport accessories, Goettler said.

The new space also will have a community room, where REI and its local partners can host classes, presentations and events — when it’s safe to do so under COVID-19 restrictions.

The existing REI store will continue to house the retailer’s camp and footwear departments, along with clothing and travel. It will remain open during the remodeling of the new space, which is targeted for a spring completion, Goettler said.

REI plans to hire 40 employees to support the expanded space, she said.

Founded in 1938 and formally known as Recreational Equipment Inc., REI operates as a consumer cooperative, with customers serving as members of the co-op, according to its website.

REI’s website says it has 19 million lifetime co-op members, more than 13,000 employees and 165 locations in 39 states and the District of Columbia.

REI is expanding in Colorado Springs just as rival Scheels All Sports comes to town.

Scheels is constructing a two-level, 220,000-square-foot store northeast of InterQuest Parkway and Interstate 25, a few miles north of REI’s location.

The massive Scheels store — which will have 75 specialty shops within its larger store for biking, camping, fly fishing and other activities — is scheduled to open March 27.

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