On Tuesday, March 10, the Longmont City Council will vote on two agreements that could bring a permanent Front Range Community College campus and a new regional transit hub to the 1st and Main area. The 6.14-acre site sits on the east side of Main Street, between First Avenue and Boston Avenue. If approved, the area would grow into a neighborhood with housing, shops, and community spaces built around transit and education.

 

These agreements would mark the first formal steps toward one of the largest downtown investments in Longmont’s history.

 

What Council Will Consider

 

Council will vote on:

• A Phase 1 Intergovernmental Agreement with FRCC to fund a facility master plan and academic program plan exploring a permanent downtown campus.
• A Development Agreement with Vertikal Richmark to advance campus planning and select it as the entity that will construct the 1st and Main Transit Hub.

 

Phase 1 planning is funded by $499,000 from FRCC and $50,000 from the City, using funds set aside in 2019. City Council would need to approve any future construction funding.

 

The transit hub project includes $16.4 million in Regional Transportation District (RTD) FasTracks funding and more than $9 million in city land investment. The project also received a $4 million state grant through the Transit Oriented Communities Infrastructure (TOCI) program. This funding is part of more than $13 million awarded to Front Range communities to support housing development near key transit centers. The funding will help cover early construction work, including site and utility improvements. Construction must be completed by the end of 2027. Site work and construction are expected to begin this fall.

 

Turning a Community Vision into Reality

 

This project has its roots in years of community input. It builds on Longmont’s 2004 vote to join the FasTracks program. In 2019, a 51-member advisory panel and hundreds of residents helped shape a vision for the underused 1st and Main area. Higher education, makerspaces, transit, housing, and arts were the top priorities.

 

“This is the result of years of community planning and partnership,” said Harold Dominguez, Longmont City Manager. “We’re taking a vision that residents helped create and moving it into action.”

 

Permanent Downtown Campus

 

The proposed FRCC campus will be a flexible, urban learning center. It will focus on science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics, health technologies, and advanced manufacturing.

 

Instead of a traditional college building, the campus would bring classrooms, labs, employers, and community services together in one place. Spaces could be rearranged to allow programs to evolve over time.

 

A permanent facility would allow FRCC to expand programs based on regional workforce needs. The downtown location is near existing and future transit connections that could link FRCC campuses in Westminster, Fort Collins, and Longmont.

 

“This partnership between Front Range Community College and the City of Longmont represents a bold opportunity to reimagine what a community college can be. By creating an innovative urban campus in the heart of downtown, we will expand access to education, connect students to in-demand careers, and strengthen economic opportunity across Boulder County and the region,” said Dr. Colleen Simpson, President, Front Range Community College.

 

Transit Hub and Mixed-Use Development

 

The planned five-story transit hub would include about 600 parking spaces and a ground-level bus station serving up to 10 buses. It is designed to connect multiple systems, including:

 

• Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along CO 119 between Longmont and Boulder
• RTD regional bus routes
• Local bikeways
• Ride Longmont microtransit
• Future Front Range Passenger Rail service, if funded and built

 

A Coffman Street extension connecting First Avenue to Boston Avenue is also planned, improving access for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.

 

Vertikal Richmark, a joint venture of Vertikal and Richmark Companies, approached the city with the project idea. It is under contract to buy nearby property and build the transit hub as part of the larger innovation district. Private development that would be built around the transit center garage is estimated at $100 million–$120 million and will be built separately.

 

“With the RTD station directly across the street, we see an opportunity to bring transit, learning, living and working together—an energized district built for how people want to live today,” said Walker Thrash, Partner of Vertikal Richmark.

 

Focus on Access and Opportunity

 

City leaders say the project strengthens Longmont’s ability to attract and grow businesses. When job training is in the heart of downtown, connected to transit and employers, companies can find skilled workers locally, and residents can build careers without leaving Longmont.
The project will make it easier for residents to reach education, jobs, and transportation, especially for residents relying on public transit or seeking affordable education and career pathways.

 

“Not every city can bring together a community college campus and a regional transit hub in the heart of downtown,” Dominguez said. “We’re building this to make it easier for residents to get to school, get to work, and build careers here in Longmont.”

 

Next Steps

 

If approved Tuesday, the next phases would include:

 

• Launch of campus master planning and academic program planning
• Coordination of transit hub design with RTD’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project
• Future phases of campus development and private construction returning to City Council for review and approval