Longmont, Co - 15 October, 2003 -

A $3 million redevelopment project in Longmont not only has brought some new energy into the city's downtown district, but it also has provided some commercial space that its first tenant calls a godsend. The building's owner, along with community members, will celebrate the arrival of Roosevelt Place, a three-story, 22,000-square-foot building at 636 Coffman St., from 6 to 8 p.m. today during a grand opening reception. So far, the development boasts one tenant Camille's Sidewalk Cafe. And Longmont's commercial vacancy rate stands at about 23 percent. But owner RLET Properties LLC and Keith Kanemoto, the Prudential LTM broker associate handling the building's leasing, say they're optimistic of what Roosevelt Place will accomplish. "Our belief is that Longmont, because of its location, because of the land around it, will be one of Colorado's fastest growing communities for quite some time," said Cotton Burden, manager of the Niwot-based RLET. The first floor provides retail space, although Camille's already occupies 2,500 square feet. The top two floors provide professional office space, ideally for businesses looking to be near the city's big employers, including Amgen Inc. and Xilinx Inc., he said. "Roosevelt Place is really answering the need for Class A office space in downtown Longmont that we didn't have before," Kanemoto said. RLET primarily buys real estate as investments. Its holdings are mostly in Longmont, although it owns properties in Boulder, Niwot and Colorado Springs, too. Normally, RLET steers clear of developing projects itself, but it was frustrated by the kinds of office space available in Longmont. The initial plans called for a smaller-sized concept, Burden said. It acquired one parcel. Then neighboring land became available, so it acquired it, too. And then the city gave RLET permission to build twice the square footage normally allowed for the two parcels together, mainly because RLET could show there was sufficient parking nearby to handle the larger size, Burden said. The company tore down a commercial office building, a small house and a duplex before constructing the new site. For Tim and Cyndie Andrews, the building came along at just the right time. The Thornton couple bought the rights to develop Tulsa, Okla.-based Camille's franchises in Longmont and Boulder, and needed a good location with good energy. Attracted to Camille's healthy menu options and overall concept, Tim Andrews said it took 10 minutes to decide to sign on with Camille's. It took even less time to decide Roosevelt Place would become the home of their first location, he said. "It was that great a fit," Andrews said. "It was a very easy decision to make." The 7-year-old quick-serve chain offers wraps, baked goods, hot sandwiches, soups, smoothies and salads, among other things. Camille's has more than 500 locations under development nationwide. The only other Colorado location is in Fort Collins. The Andrews', who employ about 22 people at the Longmont restaurant, plan to open another at 1710 Pearl St. in Boulder on Nov. 22. The Longmont Camille's opened Aug. 23. So far, most traffic comes during the weekday lunch rush, Andrews said. But the eatery, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, has also seen traffic maintain a steady flow on Saturdays and Sundays, he said. He attributes that to Roosevelt Place's location, near the downtown district and the revamped Roosevelt Park. "It's been a godsend," he said.

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