Colorado Real Estate Journal - July 15, 2015
A confluence of public and private investment, and a whole lot of talent and creativity, is bringing sea change to the city of Longmont. The Village at the Peaks, the redevelopment of the old Twin Peaks Mall, will open in phases this fall. By late fall/early winter, the former Butterball turkey factory will start to be transformed into South Main Station, a 27-acre mixed-use development catty-corner from a future Regional Transportation District bus rapid transit station/park-n-Ride at First and Main streets. The city is planning the 52-acre Dickens Farm Park directly to the south along St. Vrain Creek, and the creek corridor will be enhanced and made safer. Downtown streetscape also is being extended. “There is a lot of activity, and the public improvements that are currently being built in the area will f u n d a m e n - tally change that part of town,” said Brian Bair, who, with Pathfinder Partners, is developing South Main Station. Across the city, five real estate development projects totaling more than 600 acres are proposed, a former Kmart is being turned into an entrepreneurial mixed-use marketplace, and University of Colorado Health will invest more than $100 million in a new hospital. Innovation, the arts and microbrewing are thriving in Longmont, which used to be all about “pickups and farmers,” said native and TinkerMill founder Scott Converse. “About five to 10 years ago, that really started to change, and that’s when I think you’re starting to see the real estate stuff happening,” he said, adding investment is being propelled by the city’s new high-speed fiber-optic system. “Once that fiber rolls out, all of a sudden, Longmont becomes the most technically advanced city on the planet … the planet. We will have the latest technology, highest speed and we will have the lowest costs because of the way the fiber was set up,” he said. Converse started TinkerMill, a “makerspace” with space and tools for people working on everything from new technologies to jewelry, in Longmont a couple of years ago. It quickly blossomed into the largest “makerspace” in this part of the nation, attracting people from as far away as Colorado Springs and “accidentally” evolved into an incubator for some 15 new businesses. “Longmont is this center of innovation,” Converse said, adding its lack of traffic congestion and its relative affordability make it an appealing alternative to Boulder. Longmont landowner Mike Schnatzmeyer, noting Longmont has a very high percentage of patent holders per capita, calls it the “Boulder overflow effect.” “Longmont is Boulder 20 years ago,” said Converse. According to Schnatzmeyer, Longmont has a lot of what the millennial generation is looking for, and the city will become even more attractive to that generation – and the companies that hire millennials – as new housing choices and recreational opportunities make it possible to live in Longmont without owning a car. “There is real opportunity in the river corridor,” he said, noting the area is prime for a live-work-play lifestyle. The $70 million first phase of the South Main Station mixed-use community will include a 312-unit Class A apartment community at Second and Main streets with 9,000 square feet of street-level retail and office space. “I think South Main Station is a fabulous addition to downtown. It’s a redevelopment that was really needed at the gateway to our downtown district,” said Kimberlee McKee, executive director of the Longmont Downtown Development Authority, which, as part of a Main Street construction project, is extending streetscape south to First Street. As the largest apartment community built downtown, South Main Station will help nurture a 24-7 environment downtown, she said. “We think there’s a pent-up demand, especially for downtown product,” said Bair. “You’re on Main Street and a block from downtown, and as soon as that transit station gets built, you’ll be able to hop on a bus or the train and go to Boulder or Union Station or wherever you want to go.” South Main Station’s apartments will comprise four four-story buildings and a three-story building with a pedestrian-way through the property to connect from Main Street to Emery Street on the east, where Wibby Brewing is opening a brewery and taproom in an existing building that was part of the land assemblage. The apartments will be “heavily amenitized,” including an outdoor pool and deck that will connect with a TV lounge; a fitness facility that will include a multipurpose exercise room; three dog washing/grooming stations; a rooftop deck with “spectacular views” of the mountains; and “do-it-yourself” room for tuning up bikes, skis and snowboards. There will be tuck-under garages in each building, plus surface parking and carports. The first units will be delivered in late 2017. South Main Station’s ownership group, PFP Longmont Holdings I LLC, a joint venture of Bair’s development company and Pathfinder Partners, is considering developing approximately 200 units of high-density single-family housing in South Main Station’s second phase. “That whole South Main Station, along with our public improvements, sets the stage for a pretty transformative opportunity down there,” said Longmont Redevelopment & Revitalization Manager David Starnes. Converse said he is talking to Bair about the possibility of creating a “collaborative innovation center” in the former Schlitz granary building at South Main Station. The center could house TinkerMill as well as co-working space, creating the kind of “21st century real estate that we need,” Converse said.