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Longmont completes initial review of Granary development plans

Plans to convert the historic building into a food hall and office space are taking shape.
granary-rendering
A rendering of the development plans for the Granary in Longmont.

The city of Longmont has completed its initial review of the site plan for the Granary development, the city’s Planning and Development Services department said Wednesday.

The developer, Mass Equities Inc., is set to convert the Granary into a food hall and office space, said Brien Schumacher, principal planner with the city.

“They haven’t submitted construction drawings for building permits yet, so it’s kind of in the site plan review stage,” Schumacher said. “They had planned to start this pre-pandemic, and then the pandemic came in, and they put it on hold.”

The Granary, which sits on 1.3 miles of land at 210 Emery St., will be renovated into a three-story, 25,000-square-foot building with a ground-level food hall and a plaza, according to the site plan. 

“The upper levels are supposed to be flex office space — creative space,” Schumacher said.
“They’re adding a lot of new windows to the building — to the office space, and they’re going to add some overhead doors on the west side that lead out to the outdoor plaza.”

The concept will include smaller restaurants that have walk-up windows and dispersed seating, he explained. 

The development, which is near walking and bike paths, aims to encourage local pedestrian and bike traffic, but a parking lot will be added to the east side of the building, according to the site plan.

The city’s initial review included comments about minor utility upgrades and landscaping to make sure the plan is consistent with the city’s code, Schumacher said.

The property was originally developed in 1917 with the construction of a silo and a brick building for the Colorado Malt and Barley Company, according to an architectural report provided by the city. The property was then acquired by the St. Vrain Valley Milling Company, which preserved the silo but tore down the brick building in 1945 and constructed a new concrete building, which still stands today.

“The intent, rather than remove the structure, was to do an adaptive reuse of it and maintain as much of that historic character of the building as possible,” Schumacher said.

The site plan for the Granary needs to go through a second city review, but it’s unclear when that will happen, Schumacher said. The Leader reached out to Mass Equities for a timeline, but did not immediately hear back.

Mass Equities is the same firm that developed South Main Station, an apartment complex that used to be the old Butterball turkey plant. The firm purchased the plant in 2015 and converted it into the $70 million complex, which opened in 2020. South Main Station is named for the commuter rail station that’s set to open at 1st Avenue and Main Street “in 2025 or later,” a city development report read.

granary-rendering-2
A rendering of the development plans for the Granary in Longmont. Tres Birds via city of Longmont

 


Amber Fisher

About the Author: Amber Fisher

I'm thrilled to be an assistant editor with the Longmont Leader after spending the past decade reporting for news outlets across North America. When I'm not writing, you can find me snowboarding, reading fiction and running (poorly).
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