The Greeley Historic Preservation Commission on Sept. 17 granted a certificate of approval for facade rehabilitation at 911 Eighth Avenue (Case HPDR2025‑0015), the long‑vacant Salzman’s building, clearing the way for a proposed Edison's Ice Cream tenant while excepting two elements from the approval.

Staff recommended approval for most proposed rehabilitation work — including replacing storefront windows and doors, reinstalling transom glazing, filling and reusing an historic door opening, replacing damaged bricks, and installing new windows on the west elevation — but recommended against the applicant’s proposed vertical wood panel siding and against paint removal by power washing. Staff said the siding would “not be an architecturally appropriate feature for a building from the early twentieth century” and warned that aggressive paint removal could damage the brick.

The applicant’s representative, Tom Donkel, and owner Nate Freire told the commission they plan an interior design consistent with the building’s historic era and hope to open in spring 2026. They said signage will be submitted as a separate application and that the proposed vertical paneling was included in part to wrap interior support columns and to provide an attachment point for a vertical sign at the southeast corner. Donkel said the team is open to alternative materials, such as architectural metal cladding, to achieve a similar look while retaining historic appropriate storefront transparency.

Staff noted the application includes an ADA‑required recess and widening of the north entrance; the plans show a recess dimension of 5 feet 7 and 5/8 inches in the architectural drawings submitted with the application. Staff recommended that paint removal be limited to areas where paint is actively peeling, and that cleaning follow Secretary of the Interior guidance (low‑pressure washing with soap and water) rather than aggressive sandblasting or high‑pressure washing.

The motion approved the facade rehabilitation with the exceptions staff recommended (no approval at this time for vertical wood paneling and no approval for paint removal by power washing), and it granted staff discretion to work with the applicant on minor remaining details, including signage, material alternatives and final methods for paint preparation. Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the certificate with those qualifications.

Commission discussion weighed historic authenticity and storefront transparency against the practical needs of a commercial tenant and sign mounting. Staff emphasized that, although the storefront has previous alterations and no extant pre‑1970 photographs were available to define an original storefront precisely, retaining transoms, corbeled cornice features and rosettes is important to preserve the building’s character. Staff offered to work with the applicant on an alternative cladding solution to maintain historic patterns of metal framing and glass.

The commission’s vote: unanimous in favor (4–0).