The city of Colorado Springs will pay nearly $3 million as part of a settlement with GE Johnson Construction Co. Inc., the contractor that built the new Pikes Peak Summit Complex and filed a lawsuit in March claiming breach of contract by the city.

Court documents show the case was dismissed in El Paso County district court late last week. Pikes Peak America’s Mountain, a city enterprise paying for the new summit complex, will pay GE Johnson $2.95 million as part of the settlement, city spokesman Max D’Onofrio said.

Both parties will pay their own attorney fees and costs, he said.

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GE Johnson, one of Colorado’s largest general contractors, sued the city in El Paso County district court March 8, claiming Colorado Springs has not paid for work its crews carried out to build the 38,000-square-foot visitor center after “compensable delays outside of (GE Johnson’s) responsibility or control prevented” the company from completing the project on time.

The city filed a countersuit on April 13, alleging the contractor performed poor-quality work on a new wastewater treatment system and parking lot at the site.

Colorado Springs files countersuit alleging poor-quality work in Pikes Peak summit project

GE Johnson spokeswoman Laura Rinker and Pikes Peak America’s Mountain Manager Skyler Rorabaugh said in written statements the contractor and the city had reached a mutual agreement “both parties believe is fair.”

The Pikes Peak America’s Mountain enterprise will pay the $2.95 million settlement amount and it will not come from taxpayer dollars, Rorabaugh said.

“Constructing a building on the summit of a 14’er that welcomes more than a million people annually is an impressive accomplishment, and the city of Colorado Springs and (Pikes Peak America’s Mountain) are proud of the work that brought this community vision to life,” he said.

Crews broke ground on the project around Aug. 3, 2018, and the new facility opened on June 23, 2021. It cost more than $60 million, Rorabaugh said.

Made up of hurricane wind-tested glass and steel, the new facility is more than three times the size of the former summit house and includes a “grand staircase” with views of Mount Rosa and the sprawling Arkansas River Valley. It also boasts interactive displays, a museum, interpretive signage and an extensive walkway around the summit.

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GE Johnson has worked hand in hand with Colorado Springs officials as it built some of the area’s highest-profile public and private projects since it was founded more than a half-century ago.

The contractor’s Colorado Springs projects in recent years include downtown’s U.S Olympic & Paralympic Museum and Weidner Field multipurpose stadium; Ent Credit Union’s north-side headquarters; the gutting and renovation of The Broadmoor hotel’s Broadmoor West guest building; the 110-bed Children’s Hospital Colorado; the 72-bed St. Francis-Interquest hospital scheduled to open in July; and a 375-room hotel expected to debut next year as part of the Air Force Academy’s new visitors center.

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