Real Estate & Construction  June 8, 2017

Couples buy historic ice/storage building in Greeley; plan restoration  

GREELEY — Two couples who live in Greeley are going to make a run at redeveloping the site of the historic Greeley Ice and Storage building, the third time in the past 11 years someone has made an attempt.

Dana and Cherri Scheidecker, and Dennis and Becky Dougherty, operating as Shydo LLC, earlier this month purchased the property at the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 12th Street adjacent to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks for $575,000 from Greeley Ice House Inc., owned by Holly Revard.

While efforts in the past to redevelop the 1.75-acre property that originally housed an ice-manufacturing and storage plant were to create low-incoming housing, the Scheideckers and Doughertys envision restoring the building close to its original condition, including cold-storage facilities for local brewers,  maybe a brewery and possibly live-work studios for artists.

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In 2003, Revard, and her late husband, John, purchased the property for $300,000. In 2006, they announced plans to convert the property that includes the 33,000-square-foot, three-story ice house constructed in 1930 into loft apartments, but the project never got past the planning stage.

In 2013, developer Gary Hassenflu, managing member of MW Development Enterprises LLC based in Kansas City, Mo., submitted plans prior to purchasing the property to build the Ice House Lofts, but his plan fizzled when he was unable to raise the capital for the $13 million project.

The Scheideckers, who own and operate a Padgett Business Services tax-consulting franchise in Greeley, and the Doughertys now have a few ideas for how to restore the iconic property and “retain the character of the building.”

Scheidecker said the basement is very well insulated and would be ideal for cold storage.

“We’ve talked with a couple of local brewers who are interested in pursuing that possibility. … We also are open to a new brewery. There is a good water supply at the building,” Scheidecker said. He also has worked with Lockwood Architects Inc. in Fort Collins to come up with some sketches for creating some live-work studios for artists.

“We will be redeveloping the property in phases. It’s still at the fun stage,” he said. “We’ve been in Greeley for 22 years. The city has many iconic buildings. … We’ve become hooked on history.”

The history

In 1897, the Greeley Ice and Storage Co. was formed, and the original ice house was constructed. The company’s incorporators included E.M. Gale, U.M. Henderson, C.N. Jackson and W.H. Edwards, according to Weld County records.

The original ice house was torn down in approximately 1929, and the northern two-thirds of the current structure was built in 1930 and the final one-third in 1939.

The company provided the city of Greeley and surrounding areas with manufactured ice and cold storage for meat, poultry and beverages, as well as storage for furniture, furs and other items.

The company also supported area agricultural interests by supplying ice for railroad and truck transport of meat and produce.

The building’s architecture is a good example of a 1930s ice-manufacturing and cold-storage facility, as reflected in its immense size, external framework of piers and floor plates dividing brick curtain walls, few window openings, loading docks, flat roof with parapet, concrete internal columns and limited ornamentation. The utilization of brick walls within an exposed concrete structural grid is a design frequently seen in industrial buildings of the era.

The building was placed on Colorado’s register of historic buildings in September 2015.

 

 

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