LURA OKs financing plan for Longmont mall

LONGMONT – Demolition of the Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont is expected to begin in mid-July, following the approval of a financing plan clearing the way to redevelop the site as The Village at the Peaks.

The Longmont City Council, acting as the Longmont Urban Renewal Authority, approved the plan by a 7-0 vote Tuesday night, subject to modifications concerning construction loans, allowing developer New Mark Merrill Mountain States to set a start date for the estimated $89.3 million project.

The city is participating in the public-private partnership by pledging approximately $27.5 million toward infrastructure improvements, which will be paid for through general bonds issued by the city. The bonds would be paid off through a portion of the sales-tax revenue generated by the mall, a process called tax-increment financing.

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Sales-tax generation projections submitted by tenants who have signed leases satisfied requirements set by LURA.

Allen Ginsborg, managing director and principal of NewMark Merrill Mountain States, assured the council that the “project is a go,” although final construction costs have yet to be determined. He told the council that demolition and site costs are set, but that construction costs are not set because of late changes to designs submitted by two of the anchor tenants, Whole Foods and Regal Cinemas.

Whole Foods is expanding its footprint to 40,600 square feet from 30,000 as originally announced. Regal is upgrading its stadium seating to include recliners.

“Those changes toyed with the construction-bid process,” Ginsborg said, adding the changes created an additional cost of “less than $100,000” to have architects rework construction documents. Ginsborg said NewMark Merrill is in the process of reviewing bids, and he expects construction costs to be finalized by July 14.

When completed, the outdoor mall at 1260 S. Hover St. is expected to have e approximately 488,619 square feet of retail space.