Despite some city officials’ contention that such a move could jeopardize plans for the Downtown Civic Campus, Greeley’s Historic Preservation Commission voted Monday to recommend to the City Council that the iconic round City Hall be declared a historic building.
The council will take up the question on first reading at its regular meeting Dec. 16.
The commission, acting on an application from the nonprofit Historic Greeley Inc., voted 5-0 to ask the council to approve the designation. After three members of the commission’s seven-member board recused themselves because of what they deemed to be potential conflicts of interest, the City Council in November appointed an alternate member to assure the necessary quorum to vote on the motion.
The Greeley Municipal Code requires that the commission must consider Historic Greeley’s application for a building’s historic designation before it can be presented to the city council.
According to the proposed ordinance, “City Council must determine whether the property possesses characteristics of compelling historic importance to the entire community and meets one of the following criteria: unusual or uncommon significance that the structure’s potential demolition or major alteration would diminish the character and sense of place in the community of Greeley; or superior or outstanding examples of architectural, historical or geographical significance.”
Approval of the ordinance on first and second readings would indicate that the council had “determined that the property at 1000 10th St. met or exceeded the criteria for designation of individual, non-owner nominated property pursuant to Greeley Municipal Code.”
The Dec. 16 agenda item could prove contentious, however. Kelli Johnson, the assistant city manager who is in charge of the Downtown Civic Campus, told BizWest in November that such a designation “could really jeopardize the project moving forward, and we would have to see if we can come up with another way to satisfy all the partners, or potentially lose the project if the county decides to pack up and move out of downtown, and the school district could potentially pack up and move out of downtown.”
She said millions of dollars have already been invested by Weld County, the city and Greeley-Evans School District 6 to move forward with the downtown campus, the plans for which include some land swaps and demolition of some downtown buildings including the nearly 60-year-old “round building” that houses City Hall.
If the council on Dec. 16 rejects the Historic Preservation Commission’s recommendation, the demolition would probably occur in the second quarter of 2026, with the approximately 60 employees who work in City Hall being relocated two blocks south to the old Atmos Energy building, 1200 11th Ave.
Originally constructed in 1968, the building started its life as a bank and is now a pivotal piece in the city’s land swap with Weld County and School District 6 to ensure a combined civic campus for all three.
City officials have rejected the idea of keeping the building as a city hall because of the estimated renovation costs of $24 million to $34 million, as well as its lack of expansion capabilities, a massive flooding issue and troublesome skylight issues.
Linde Thompson, a board member for Historic Greeley and a downtown property owner, told BizWest that a 10-year-old structural analysis of the building showed it was sound, and that the building should at least be considered for an adaptive reuse instead of being torn down.
In a letter submitted to BizWest, members of Historic Greeley’s board of directors declared that “the assertion by Greeley city officials that the downtown civic campus project hinges on the demolition of City Hall is just plain silly.”
Although acknowledging and supporting “the need to keep county, city, and school district activities and employees in our downtown core,” the board members added that “we also recognize and observe what many of our local leaders don’t: that the redevelopment of a community’s historic buildings doesn’t prohibit good civic growth — it enhances it.”
Citing Old Town Fort Collins, downtown Loveland, the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder and Denver’s LoDo district, the board members wrote that “we travel miles to get to these places to shop, stay, and dine — and why? Because they have historic buildings that have been beautifully and creatively adapted to enhance the community’s unique character.
“But destruction of Greeley’s unique and historic buildings in prior decades led us to the disinvestment that nearly ruined our downtown.”
Although supporting the needs of the city, county and school district for expansion, the board members wrote that “the notion that preservation of one of our most significant buildings ‘derails’ this effort is a false argument. The scraping of that mid-century modern gem — which reflects local legacies of names like Norman Dean, Bob Tointon and Hensel Phelps — to gain 40 more spaces in a parking lot, is shortsighted. We can do better.”
This article was first published by BizWest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2025 BizWest Media LLC.
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