The Denver Regional Transportation District, along with the city of Longmont, Colo., and regional transportation partners, have broken ground on the future 1st & Main Transit Station in downtown Longmont.

The agency says the $70 million transit center and Coffman Street extension represents more than two decades of planning and regional collaboration. The five-story facility will include a bus station with 10 bus bays, approximately 700 parking spaces, bicycle storage and connections to the city’s growing multimodal transportation network. The facility will support future bus rapid transit service between Longmont and Boulder, plans for Front Range Passenger Rail and a growing network of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.

“This groundbreaking represents the culmination of years of planning, partnership and investment in Longmont’s future,” said Longmont Mayor Susie Hidalgo-Fahring. “The 1st & Main Transit Station will connect people to more transportation options while helping transform this part of our downtown into a vibrant place to live, work, learn and gather. It’s a project that will serve Longmont today while helping prepare our community for the regional transportation network of tomorrow.”

The project is supported by public and private investment and regional collaboration, including: 

• $16.4 million from Denver RTD that will go toward transit improvements. 

• $4 million from a DOLA Transit-Oriented Communities Infrastructure Grant. 

• More than $17.6 million from the city of Longmont to invest in property acquisition and other project related costs.

Denver RTD notes the city will fund the remainder of the project through certificates of participation that will be paid for through a combination of tax increment revenues from the redevelopment, private development parking fees and city funds from the Public Improvement Fund and the Street Fund.

“[Denver] RTD is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the city of Longmont on this significant investment in both the community and our regional transit network,” said Denver RTD Board Chair Patrick O’Keefe. “The 1st & Main Transit Station strengthens mobility options for Longmont residents and serves as a vital link to the CO 119 corridor and future transportation improvements across the Front Range.”

Denver RTD says the broader transit-oriented development effort includes the $13 million extension of Coffman Street between 1st Avenue and Boston Avenue, new housing and commercial development and a planned Front Range Community College campus.

"This community-led and state-supported work will add to the state and local efforts to build communities that offer residents and visitors great ways to live and get around," said Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Executive Director Shoshana Lew. "CDOT is proud to have contributed to this work, from access and right-of-way planning and coordination, to building this hub that will not only serve the people of Longmont and Boulder County but the entire Northern Colorado region. Paired with other investments we are making such as mobility hubs along I-25, communities are becoming better connected in a variety of high-quality ways."

Construction of the transit station is targeted to be complete by the end of 2027.