Longmont turkey plant will be torn down, replaced by mixed-use project

Shuttered since 2011, the former Butterball Turkey processing plant at the edge of down town Longmont will be demolished and replaced by a mixed-use development.

San Diego-based Pathfinders Partners and its Niwot-based development partner 150 Main have closed on the purchase of seven parcels comprising 27.5 acres of land for $4.5 million.

Pathfinders’ senior managing partner Lorne Polger said in a release Wednesday that phase one of the project — a 250-unit apartment complex — will begin once the three-story processing building at the intersection of First Avenue and Main Street is demolished.

Polger expects ground breaking late this year. He said the company has been working with the city and the Downtown Development Authority to finalize plans.

“We believe the city of Longmont is well positioned for future growth and development due to its affordability, gentrification, improving economy, population growth and proximity to both the Boulder and Denver job markets,” he said.

The site has been tangled in litigation since February 2013, when Butterball sued the city after the industrial site was rezoned for mixed use. The new zoning, Butterball said in court documents, wiped out many potential customers for the plant.

Appraisers for Butterball set the properties’ value at $7.45 million before the zoning change and $2.1 million after it.

 

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