Revamping downtown Longmont
Several construction projects coming up or already underway are designed to reshape downtown Longmont.
• New bus and bike lanes and sidewalks will be added to Coffman Street from 1st to 9th avenues. Primary construction will start in May, but preliminary work, like removing trees, started this week, causing the closure of the 300 East parking lot.
• Staging work (fence installation, equipment drop-off) started on Hotel Longmont this week, a five-story boutique hotel on the northwest corner of Kimbark Street and 3rd Avenue. The plan includes 84 guest rooms and a rooftop restaurant space. Demolition could start as soon as March 21, according to the City.
• Longmont Housing Authority’s The Village on Main property, formerly called Village Place, will undergo renovations including unit updates and an additional public restroom on the second floor. Renovations started in January and will be completed by the end of the year.
• The City and RTD are partnering to construct facilities to serve bus lines on the south end of the downtown area as part of its 1st and Main Transit Station project. The plan includes a parking garage and 300 to 400 apartments. The project is in the planning phase and is estimated to be completed in 2026.
According to the City, an open house with all downtown projects will be scheduled in the coming weeks.
Fire mitigation grants
Boulder County is distributing more than $1.5 million to 11 local organizations for wildfire fuel mitigation.
These are the first grants awarded through the Strategic Fuels Mitigation Grant program, funded by the Wildfire Mitigation Tax that was approved by voters in 2022. Recipients include Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District, Boulder Valley and Longmont Conservation Districts, the City of Longmont and the Town of Lyons.
In other news…
• A study from CU Boulder published March 5 in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment finds the Arctic’s first ice-free day could happen within a decade, much earlier than originally projected. By mid-century, the region could see an entire month without floating ice during warm summer months.
• The City of Louisville is collecting resident feedback to update its 11-year-old comprehensive plan, a document that guides policy updates, growth and development. The City is hosting a community open house at the Louisville Recreation and Senior Center on Thursday, March 21 at 5:30 p.m. for residents to learn more about the plan, and is also distributing a survey (bit.ly/city_survey).
• The Town of Superior and Boulder County filed a lawsuit against Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport and Jefferson County on March 12 “to protect their residents from negative and unreasonable health impacts caused by certain operations,” according to a press release from Superior.