An expansion of a residential alcohol and drug addiction and mental health treatment center in northeast Colorado Springs that faced heavy neighborhood opposition two and a half years ago is preparing for its debut by month’s end.

Peaks Recovery Centers is opening an additional 20 beds at Trailhead, a rehab campus on Old Ranch Road east of Voyager Parkway.

Space in a new 15,000-square-foot building provides a total of 44 inpatient beds on the nearly 10-acre site for people with substance use and mental health disorders, said Jason Friesema, chief clinical officer.

The for-profit company is headquartered in Colorado Springs and in nine years of treatment services has expanded to 44 states.

It also runs a 12-bed residential treatment facility and outpatient care clinic near Dublin and Academy boulevards.

A center in Denver near Interstate 25 and Hampden Avenue offers “intensive outpatient therapy.”

Demand for drug rehab services is high, Friesema said, with several factors driving the increase.

“We still have a significant opioid crisis both in the country and our community,” he said. “COVID turned out to be pretty disruptive, with an increase in isolation and people suffering from suicidal ideation and depression.”

Also, he said, more people turned to alcohol to cope with pandemic-related stresses of unemployment, reduced socialization and disruption of daily life, which resulted in higher levels of misuse.

“We stay pretty full, and I believe other places do, too,” Friesema said.

The new facility is expected to be up and running by the end of August, according to Friesema. Construction crews were still working on interior elements at a public grand opening held Thursday.

Two existing houses on the property have accommodated clients since the company purchased the campus in 2019 for a total of about $2.26 million, according to county assessor’s records.

The company received approval from City Council in January 2021 to be annexed into Colorado Springs and for rezoning its parcels from rural residential to commercial use.

A group of nearby residents, the Springcrest Neighborhood Alliance, appealed city Planning Commission’s recommendation that the project be approved, saying rezoning and annexation would create too abrupt of a transition from rural residential to commercial application, that it would set a precedent for other commercial development and that the project would have a significant impact on traffic. The appeal was denied.

“It was a little contentious, there was some animosity, and I understand the ‘Not In My Backyard,’” said Friesema, who has been a counselor in Colorado Springs since 1999.

As part of the annexation process, the company paid to widen Old Ranch Road and create turn lanes to help traffic flow, he said. And tapping into the city’s water and sewer systems should leave the water table intact for residents using wells, he said.

Clients are randomly tested for drug and alcohol use throughout their stay at the center, which ranges from 30 to 45 days, Friesema said. The center uses a treatment model that combines medical, psychological and sociocultural elements pertaining to addiction.

Neighbors are still angry about City Council’s decision to allow the project, though. One neighbor said Thursday that he didn’t want to go on the record, adding that neighbors feel like their voices weren’t heard before, and with the center’s opening, it doesn’t seem to matter.

Friesema describes the impact to the neighboring community as “low” and said overall community impact is “high.”

Peaks Recovery Centers does not accept Medicaid but does accept most other health insurances, according to the company.

“The city is growing and expanding, in particular to the north and east, and we are working to accommodate the needs of the community,” Friesema said. “As the community grows, proportionately the rate of substance use disorder and mental health disorders grow, so these services are needed.”