Longmont Times-Call
Editorial
Goodbye, Twin Peaks Mall; and thank you
Posted: 07/20/2014 07:51:50 AM MDT | Updated: 9 days ago
(Longmont Times-Call File / The Photo Works)
Related
- Twin Peaks Mall
- Jul 19:
- Memories of Longmont's Twin Peaks Mall
- Jul 16:
- Longmont movie theater, mall's last day is Sunday
- Jul 15:
- Want a piece of Longmont retail history? Twin Peaks Mall auction is for you
An aerial photo of Twin Peaks Mall taken in 1987 reveals where the edge of town was when the mall had opened two years earlier.
The Times-Call archive image, which shows a recently added but yet to open Sears store, includes fields south of Ken Pratt Boulevard (then Florida Avenue) and west of Hover Street. A farm house with outbuildings is nestled on the northwest corner of Hover and what is now Clover Basin Drive, where Chili's now sits.
Studying the photo, a longtime resident might be amazed at how much this city has changed since the mall opened. But it has been a generation since Twin Peaks Mall opened — a few weeks shy of 29 years — and the world today is as different from 1985 as 1985 was from the mid-1950s.
Neighborhoods now spill west and south of the mall, and shopping centers line the roads across from Twin Peaks. As much as mall traffic has waned in recent years, shoppers have flocked to those other stores, several of which — anecdotally — are among the best performing in the state for sales. Even J.C. Penney, one of the original mall anchors, moved across the street.
As a generation has passed, and as tastes and habits have changed, Twin Peaks mall has slowly gone dark and quiet.
It wasn't always like that.
For years, Twin Peaks was the center of activity in Longmont, hosting concerts, art displays, fashion shows, baseball card shows and blood drives — that is, in addition to being packed with shoppers. As the aerial photo and other archive photos illustrate, hundreds of people could be found at the mall on any given day, drawn by more than 70 retailers, fountains, the food court, and even a carousel. During busy shopping seasons, thousands filled the massive structure.
One might conclude that the neighboring shopping centers can thank Twin Peaks for their success. For decades, the mall was the draw along South Hover Street. It helped move Longmont south and west. It delivered the sales tax dollars that helped build a vibrant city.
Today, after the last afternoon showing at the mall theater, Twin Peaks Mall's doors will close for the last time. In less than two weeks, machines will begin tearing down the walls that were erected more than 29 years ago.
Longmont, take one last look at your mall, because it's about to give way to another generation.
And be thankful for those who more than 30 years ago had the vision to build it, and to those who for years have kept it operating.
Goodbye, Twin Peaks Mall.
Longmont's Twin Peaks Mall slated for demo Aug. 1
Charity auction prizes include helicopter ride, a chance to operate the 100-ton excavator
By Tony Kindelspire
Times-Call staff writer
Posted: 07/17/2014 01:35:40 PM MDT
A large mural marks the ceremonial spot where the demolition will begin at Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont. (Matthew Jonas / Longmont Times-Call)
Twenty-nine years to the month that dignitaries and fanfare celebrated the opening of Longmont's Twin Peaks Mall, the walls will come tumbling down.
Twin Peaks Mall demolition event
When: 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1
Where: Northwest corner of the property off Bent Way
Who: NewMark Merrill representatives, city officials, I Have a Dream Foundation representatives
More info:
NewMark Merrill Mountain States, owners of the mall, have announced that August 1 will be Day One of the mall's demolition. The 100-ton excavator and claw will have a target as it proceeds to tear into the building: a giant Gamma Acosta mural being painted on the former Sears building, on the northwest corner of the mall.
"We've got the old (Twin Peaks Mall) logo going up, so it's representative of the old mall going away," said Luke McFetridge, regional property manager for NewMark Merrill.
McFetridge said his connection with Acosta grew out of conversations he had been having with Joanne Kirves, executive director of Longmont Council for the Arts. He said the two have been talking about some ideas for how Village at the Peaks, the new center that NewMark Merrill is building on the mall property, might be able to support the local artists' community in Longmont.
"Kicking some ideas around with her, she referred some great local artists and one of those was Gamma," said McFetridge, who added that he was very impressed with Acosta's work.
And the artist is no stranger to working with large canvases: one of his works of a couple years ago, "Overflow," depicted what appeared to be giant gallons of paint dripping down the side of the Longmont Museum & Cultural Center.
But that's not the only painting Acosta is going to be doing on the building before it goes away.
"On the east side, he's going to basically get a blank palette," McFetridge said. "I think he's got a full team he's planning to bring in."
The west entrance of Twin Peaks Mall is seen in this December 2006 photo.
Acosta's work on the east side will be visible from Kline Drive, east of the mall's ring road and across from the theater, and also on the outside of the ring road near Taco Bell and Burger King on the south side.
Though the closing of the UA Twin Peaks 10 on Sunday marks the official end of activity at Twin Peaks Mall, demolition work already has begun on the interior.
First, representatives from Habitat for Humanity and Boulder's ReSource Yard were allowed to come in and take out some of the furnishings. Wednesday night, members of the public were invited to participate in Pacific Auction's sale, and Habitat and ReSource will be allowed to come in once more and pick over what's left, McFetridge said.
Whatever remains will be reused, as much as possible, he said. Because the contractors will install all new infrastructure underground, including electric, sewer and fiber optic lines, the site will be completely ripped up. Plans are to reuse the brick as filler for the parking lots, and the asphalt will also be ground up on-site.
"The theme is to recycle, reuse and repurpose as much of this existing building as possible," McFetridge said.
Late next week, after people who bought things at auction have had a chance to remove their items, the Longmont Police SWAT team and Longmont Fire Department will be back in the building doing more training. This time, the police and fire crews will have free rein to destroy pretty much whatever they want to, he said.
"They have my permission to blow stuff up," McFetridge said with a chuckle. "In a perfect world I would like them to drive a car through the front door, but I'm not sure they're going to be able to pull that off."
Not only is NewMark Merrill providing local first responders with training and employing local artists, it's also using the pending demolition to raise money for the I Have A Dream Foundation.
NewMark Merrill is auctioning off three special VIP seats to the demolition, with the winning bidders getting a guided helicopter tour of the project site with NewMark Merrill and city officials. In addition, one member of the community attending the demolition event will be chosen to take a turn operating the 100-ton excavator, as will the three VIP winners of the auction.
Construction of Village at the Peaks will begin later this year, following demolition. The majority of the center, which will be anchored by Whole Foods, Sam's Club and a new Regal theater, should be open by the holiday shopping season in 2015.
For more information on the project or to bid to become one of the VIPs at the demolition, visit villageatthepeaks.com.
Contact Times-Call staff writer Tony Kindelspire at 303-684-5291 or
Denver Post
Want a piece of Longmont retail history? Twin Peaks Mall auction is for you
The sale isn't just at mall -- it is the mall
By Tony Kindelspire
Times-Call staff writer
Posted: 07/15/2014 03:08:26 PM MDTAdd a Comment | Updated: 14 days ago
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From left: O.J. Pratt, owner of Pacific Auction Companies, talks with employee Lee McBride as they prepare items for auction, Tuesday, July 15, 2014, at Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont. Items including windows, doors, neon lighting, restaurant equipment and even the benches will be auctioned off on ...... Wednesday. Go to timescall.com for more photos of Twin Peaks Mall...... (Matthew Jonas/Longmont Times-Call)
A bench and plants are seen marked for auction, Tuesday, July 15, 2014, at Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont. Items including windows, doors, neon lighting, restaurant equipment and even the benches will be auctioned off by Pacific Auction Companies on Wednesday. Go to timescall.com for more photos of ...... Twin Peaks Mall...... (Matthew Jonas/Longmont Times-Call)
O.J. Pratt, owner of Pacific Auction Companies, looks over items to be auctioned, Tuesday, July 15, 2014, at Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont. Items including windows, doors, neon lighting, restaurant equipment and even the benches will be auctioned off on Wednesday. Go to timescall.com for more photos ...... of Twin Peaks Mall...... (Matthew Jonas/Longmont Times-Call)
The empty food court and storefronts are seen, Tuesday, July 15, 2014, at Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont. Items including windows, doors, neon lighting, restaurant equipment and even the benches will be auctioned off by Pacific Auction Companies on Wednesday. Go to timescall.com for more photos of Twin ...... Peaks Mall...... (Matthew Jonas/Longmont Times-Call)
See additional gallery images here.
Empty corridors and storefronts are seen, Tuesday, July 15, 2014, at Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont. Items including windows, doors, neon lighting, restaurant equipment and even the benches will be auctioned off by Pacific Auction Companies on Wednesday. Go to timescall.com for more photos of Twin ...... Peaks Mall...... (Matthew Jonas/Longmont Times-Call)
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Vaulted ceilings in your living room? How would you like a 20-foot indoor tree? You'll just have to figure a way to get it out of the building.
Or how about some maple hardwood flooring — enough to fill an entire store? Or maybe you're in the market for an ice machine for the garage?
Pacific Auction Companies on Wednesday evening will host a liquidation sale of everything that's left at Twin Peaks Mall. Owner O.J. Pratt had his crew riding through the mall on bicycles Tuesday, making sure everything was tagged and photographed appropriately.
"They're the nicest park benches you've ever seen," Pratt said, pointing to the wooden benches in the middle of the mall's aisles that have played host to countless keisters over the years. "They've been in here 20 years — they look brand new."
Want to take home a piece of Longmont's retail history? Come down Wednesday evening and bid on a bench or two.
"Some of them are lotted individually, some are in groups of two or three," Pratt said. "We'll mix it up."
Twin Peaks Mall liquidation auction
Where: Go in the west entrance to Penny's (follow the signs to get safely into the parking lot). The auction will also be taking place online.
When: 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 16
What will be for sale: 500,000 square feet of equipment, fixtures, building materials, restaurant equipment, neon tubing and much more
More info: Go to pacificauction.com
All that's left in the interiors of the stores is what the retailers chose not to bring with them. For example, one retailer had taken all the brackets and shelving out of its store but had left the metal the shelving attaches to on the wall. The sinks and chairs from the hair salons were left behind, as was a bunch of the restaurant equipment in the food court. All will be up for auction.
A bench and potted plants are some of the items marked for auction at Twin Peaks Mall. Pacific Auction Companies will host the auction beginning at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Tuesday until 5 p.m. and noon on Wednesday are the auction's preview times. (Matthew Jonas / Longmont Times-Call)
The structural glass at the entrance to many of the stores was expensive to install, Pratt said, but likely bring won't bring much at auction because of the exact sizing of each panel.
"There's some fun things like this," Pratt said, showing a closet-sized, walk-in safe in the back of one store. "If you need a safe, here's your chance."
Also included in the auction will be the building's HVAC units, four commercial-size trash compactors, dozens of drinking fountains, thousands of lineal feet of neon tubing and hundreds of sheets of 1/2-inch plywood — which lined the hallways that were off limits to the general public but were used by retailers to haul merchandise and furnishings through.
Pratt said the mall's owners, NewMark Merrill Mountain States, will give auction buyers about two weeks to remove what they buy at auction before demolition on the mall begins. The United Artists Theater is the only business left operating, and there's been no closing date announced for it yet.
The mall — except for the east-side Dillard's building — will be demolished to make room for Village at the Peaks, a nearly $90 million redevelopment of the property into an open-air shopping center anchored by Whole Foods, Sam's Club and a Regal theater. The majority of Village at the Peaks is slated to be open by the holiday shopping season of 2015.
Contact Times-Call staff writer Tony Kindelspire at 303-684-5291 or
Longmont
Moviegoers say goodbye to Longmont's Twin Peaks theater
By Amy Bounds
Daily Camera staff writer
Posted: 07/20/2014 09:06:29 PM MDT | Updated: 9 days ago
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Longmont's John Davis said goodbye Sunday to Longmont's Twin Peaks movie theater, watching "Tammy," the last movie, with his wife and a neighbor.
"It's a piece of Longmont," he said about the 17-year-old theater — the final business to close inside Twin Peaks Mall, which is slated for demolition and redevelopment. "I have good memories of this theater."
About 1,200 people watched movies on closing day at the UA Twin Peaks 10 theater, with showings of "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" selling out. As the last movies ended, people went to the concession stand for final popcorn refills, played video games and took pictures of movie murals painted on the walls.
Susan George, left, Brooke Walker and her son, Jack, buy tickets for the latest "Transformers" movie on Sunday. Scores of people came Sunday to the Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont to see the last movies shown at the theater before it closed. (Cliff Grassmick / Daily Camera)
Kayla Benbrook and Amanda Saunders said they grew up going to the Twin Peaks theater and went almost every Sunday.
"This is our date day," Benbrook said.
United Artists first opened its 10-screen theater in the mall in 1997, 12 years after Twin Peaks Mall opened. Regal Entertainment Group and UA later merged following a bankruptcy in 2001.
Longmont's Denise Neal took her 15-year-old twins, Ryan and Shonn, to see "Edge of Tomorrow" and said she's sad to see the theater close.
"We came here to say goodbye to one of the things that made Longmont better," she said. "But we're excited to see when it comes back bigger and better."
Plans for redevelopment, dubbed Village at the Peaks, include a Regal theater as one of the anchors, along with Whole Foods and Sam's Club.
The new theater, which is being built by property owners NewMark Merrill Mountain States, will be a 12-screen, state-of-the-art facility with plush recliner seats and footrests in all 12 auditoriums.
Brooke Walker and her son, Jack, take a moment to look at the artwork on the theater walls before going inside. Scores of people came Sunday to the Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont to see the last movies shown at the theater before it closed. (Cliff Grassmick / Daily Camera)