CREJ - Multifamily Properties Quarterly - November 2016
Revitalization plans for Longmont’s historic downtown began more than 20 years ago. The 1995 Downtown Longmont Master Plan Development put forth a process of ongoing commitments to improve the quality of life in Longmont. Even with economic turbulence, this area has progressed with new restaurants and businesses adding to downtown’s revitalization. The growth was planned to retain Longmont’s historic fabric while also providing a walkable, modern community. Just last year, Longmont popped up on Livability’s 2016 list of 100 Best Places to Live, ranking No. 23. The ranking criteria factors in housing, amenities, demographics, economy, education, health care, social and civic capital, and transportation and infrastructure. The city of Longmont had the distinction of being the first planned community in Boulder County. It began when a group of businessmen in Chicago put together the Chicago-Colorado Colony, a city planned from scratch and laid out in a grid before being settled. Longmont’s location was key because the railroad already came through this area. With the growth of the railroad, the population and popularity of the area increased. If you stroll down Main Street in historic downtown Longmont today, you can still see many classic buildings with original facades and interior features dating back to the original Chicago-Colorado Colony’s establishment in 1870. A recent unique development downtown straddles the history of Longmont as well as contributes to downtown’s evolution. The Terry Street Brownstones, on the cusp between commercial and residential uses in this historic area, gives a nod to the Chicago-Colorado Colony’s roots while providing an elegant, workable solution to the L-shaped, tight infill site. “This development strikes a balance between the commercial and residential transition of this area and adds to the century-old character of this neighborhood,” said Jeff Van Sambeek of Lodestone Design Group, the project architect. “The choice of brownstone-style homes worked perfectly on this challenging lot, putting each home’s stoop right at the street and creating an alley toward the center of the block.” An existing historic structure, a house and garage, were moved to a lot downtown, where they were preserved before construction of the Terry Street Brownstones began. “It was a good process with the city of Longmont and the Longmont Downtown Development Authority,” said Craig Jones, the developer in the project. “I’ve had tremendous feedback about how the brownstones are impacting the neighborhood.” The lot had long been vacant, so neighbors were glad to see it being developed and many became proponents for the project, Jones said. When the project broke ground last year, city officials, architects, neighbors and investors attended the ceremony. “People were excited to have a new addition in this area downtown,” said Joe Black, project manager for Krische Construction, the general contractor on the project. “The choice of design was a good one to fit in with the surrounding neighborhood. People told me they love to walk downtown to have coffee in the morning, and these homes, just two blocks from Main Street, will allow people to walk downtown to shop or eat out, but are far enough away from Main Street’s traffic that it’s a quiet neighborhood. Having the parks and schools nearby is a benefit too.” Longmont boasts an impressive “urban forest,” a catalog of mature trees integral to the charm and character of the historic district. Several trees along Terry Street, which tower over the new development, were carefully preserved during construction. Downtown also is served by RTD with a hub located off Main Street at the Eighth and Coffman Park-n-Ride. There is a new multimodal bus and rail transit station planned for First and Main streets, which will help reduce traffic. Just south of downtown, the Southeast Longmont Urban Renewal Plan, intended to improve traffic mobility and public improvements nearby, is seeing success with the development of the Cheese Importers and other renewal projects along lower Main Street. With completion of the Terry Street Brownstones, as well as higher-density residential developments downtown such as the Roosevelt Park Apartments a few blocks to the north, the pulse of downtown Longmont has changed. In response to this revitalization, there has been a surge of new restaurants and businesses in downtown.