2/25/08 – In the
previous story I talked about the
Twin Peaks Mall and its shaky future.In this I’ll widen out the topic to include possible changes we could
see in Longmont’s
short and long term future.
These are not necessarily things I wish for, just the way I see things
progressing based on trends both here and in other cities.
Six years
ago, if I told you that just beyond
McDonalds and the car
dealerships near Hwy 287 and
KenPratt Blvd would be a whole new
multi-lane boulevard with stores and restaurants galore, where currently
empty land sat, you probably wouldn’t have believed it, right?Around the same time if I told you that there would be a
Super Walmart on
Hwy 287 and
Hwy 66, that seems to always
have a fairly full parking lot, you probably wouldn’t believe that either.
Well,
Harvest Junction and the
beginnings of commercial development along
Hwy 66 are here, and I expect
more of the same, if Longmont
wants to thrive and survive.
Those two locations sit on two freeway exits from I-25, one a gateway to
Boulder,
the other a gateway to RockyMountainNational Park.And both are gateways to Longmont.
The area
east of Hover, where the mall and the older Walmart stand, is a different
story.I wouldn’t go as far as
calling it blighted, but it’s
seen better days.I suspect
that Walmart will close,
especially when the new Super Walmart is built on the east side of town, and
the mall will continue to languish.I just hope the same mistake
Boulder
made isn’t repeated here with a fenced in and boarded up shopping center in
a high visibility area.
What to do
with that land?I heard and
liked the idea of a new theater,
that’s a start.How about
something more than a movie theater, how about a performing arts or possible
concert venue?Make that area
the entertainment center of the
city, maybe of the region?The loss of shopping won’t be much of a loss with all of the stores
right across the street on Hover, and may even lessen some of the
competition on some of the businesses on
Main Street.
Longmont
needs a nice movie theater and is losing money to those cities around us who
have wised up and put in state-of-the-art theaters with
stadium seating.While I’m not sure
Longmont
could support something along the lines of the
Budweiser or
Broomfield
Event
Centers,
I think the citizens could and would support a new performing arts complex.And I think non-citizens would come here for movies, plays, and
concerts given the right circumstances.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions in this site are of the authors, anonymous sources, and random thoughts or rumors from our visitors. The information and stories have been gathered as accurately as possible, but all details can not be verified or guaranteed. What is important is the BIG picture and what's wrong with it.... Read the following at your own risk. By reading this disclaimer you agree to not hold liable the authors/webmaster in any way. We present the following for informational gathering purposes only. Make up your own mind. Draw your own conclusions. Make your opinions known. No unauthorized reproduction of any materials on this site is allowed without the written consent of the authors/webmaster.
Longmont
