Healing-arts operators rub Greeley the right way

GREELEY – Downtown Greeley may find that healing is the path to revitalization via a developing business cluster in its historic neighborhoods.

Later this year, a massage clinic and school will join existing yoga, dance and Pilates studios and a physical-therapy practice in downtown Greeley. Downtown Development Authority officials there hope this cluster of healing-arts and health-related businesses will continue to grow.

James Mongan, president of the Academy of Natural Therapy and a Greeley native, said he opted to open a second location of his business in downtown Greeley because he wants to participate in helping to restore the downtown business community.

The massage-therapy school based in Eaton will open a new location in the historic Camfield building at Eighth Avenue and Seventh Street.

Mongan said another family business, Eaton Therapeutic Center, in which he has part ownership, also would open a new location in the historic building.

The healing-arts sector is one of several business niches that the Greeley DDA is hoping to see prosper, said Beverly Abell, the DDA’s executive director. Other burgeoning niches include restaurants, art galleries and entertainment.

Directing marketing efforts toward business niches is a good idea, Abell said. “It’s always smarter when you’re marketing a district to look at market niches.”

One reason is that the established networks among these business clusters help marketing efforts reverberate. In revitalizing the downtown business district, it’s important to look for clusters and niches that don’t compete with strip centers and big-box stores, Abell noted.

“In general, you don’t go up against them; you run around them and offer something unique,” she said.

Linda McSwain, who chairs the Greeley DDA’s economic restructuring team, has first-hand experience in the value of business clusters.

Attracting a healing-arts cluster is McSwain’s brainchild, Abell said. The nurse and local businesswoman was looking for a way to lease more space in a downtown property she owns. The space already was in use as a dance studio. McSwain was seeking complementary uses for the building.

As she began to put forward the idea that healing-arts businesses might be interested in downtown, McSwain said things began to happen. “It was really interesting. When you kind of put something out there, even if you don’t know what direction you need to go, sometimes interesting things happen.”

Among the “interesting things” was word that Eaton Therapeutic Center was looking to open another location. “I called them and visited with them,” McSwain said. On learning that Mongan was seeking a bigger facility and that downtown Greeley was his first choice, McSwain and the DDA began showing him around.

By late summer, Mongan and his associates had purchased the Camfield building. The 34,000 – square-foot building is undergoing extensive renovation and restoration from the facade in, Mongan said.

The building contains 19 apartments, which are being remodeled. In addition, Mongan will open a second location of his nationally recognized massage therapy school, as well as a massage clinic. The operation will also feature spa treatments such as mud wraps and a small retail center.

“We’re really excited about restoring the structure and locating there,” Mongan said. He values downtown as the city’s core. “I think it’s important that we all pitch in and restore the downtown community.”

Just when work on the building will be complete is unclear. Some school and clinic operations should be in place by October.

Downtown Greeley offers an ambiance and infrastructure that suits his business, Mongan said. “You have restaurants within walking distance, you have banks within walking distance, you have quite a few goods and services within walking distance. You also have a library and park and housing.”

Mongan said his businesses would be positives in downtown. “The school and clinic really have a huge impact on the town of Eaton, and I think they will have a much larger impact on the city of Greeley,” he said.

“The number of people who come through here on a daily basis is really significant. If we have a much larger operation in Greeley, it will put a lot of people into the downtown area, and I think it will really help the downtown businesses.”

McSwain, meanwhile, sees plenty of spinoff potential. “I’d like to see a health-food store come downtown. I’d like to have a restaurant that would serve natural foods,” she said. “I’d love to see other retail shops – anything from aroma therapies and candles and spa types of things would be wonderful to see.”

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