A strong online community would truly boost the game yea.
However i dont know why it cannt be held here?
I am not sure, but i wuold be suprised if the paradox/nitro crew wouldnt love to see a big awesome community here - a natural place for people to drop by.
Having a large community on their official site also creates a better chance of a good dialoge between fans and developers, wich i hope the dev´s are intrested in as well, at least if they plan for expansion set(s)(i can easy se a expansion adding a new continent, more features etc etc - since trade where everywhere).
Anyhow, if you decide to build something up somewhere, i am glad to assist if you want to.