Longmont long ago was a dusty satellite of Boulder with a decaying downtown. When high-tech companies started moving into town, Longmont became better known as a business park center, and downtown perked up, too, thanks in part to the Longmont Downtown Development Authority.
More and more people arrived to work those high-tech jobs, and Longmont earned a reputation as a residential hotbed. And now that residential construction and sales are sputtering, Longmont’s retail development scene is sizzling.
Longmont is about midway through a process of transforming the compass-point gateways to the city. Mainly that means big retail developments or upgrades, with much more, mostly mixed-use, development on the way.
“Commercial development has been plugging along steady the last few years, while residential development has dropped off significantly,” says Phil Del Vecchio, community development director.
Last year, 282 single- and multi-family homes were built in Longmont, compared with: 502 in 2005; 843 in 2004; 856 in 2003; 983 in 2002; and 1,641 in 2001.
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