Greeley Climbing Collective set to take downtown Greeley to new heights in 2025
By Zant Reyez | reyez@prairiemountainmedia.com
UPDATED: December 10, 2024 at 2:15 PM MST
After climbing cliffs in Southeast Asia and teaching adventure sports around the world, Bryan Hylenski is taking on his next challenge: building a climbing gym in downtown Greeley.
As an avid climber and adventurist for more than 20 years, Hylenski and his wife have taught climbing, sports and other activities in multiple countries. With this experience, he’s prepared to take on the challenge of overcoming some municipal red tape and hosting a global competition ahead of opening the new gym.
Hylenski is the CEO and founder of Colorado Climbing Collective. With locations in Longmont and Loveland, the collective brings a supportive community for new and experienced climbers and others looking for a space to continue or start a healthy lifestyle.
“We want a community of people. We want a group of people that will view this as their third home,” he said.
That potential third home and location will be known as the Greeley Climbing Collective, which is under construction in downtown Greeley at 1510 8th Ave. The space will feature 40-foot climbing walls, a fitness studio, a yoga room, adjustable training boards, an outside food truck venue and more across about 10,000-15,000 square feet.
Crews broke ground on the project in January and started construction in the summer. Hylenski hopes to finish the building by January, with a soft opening in February — but hosting the 2025 Ice Climbing World Cup in Longmont that same month may push back the schedule.
Hylenski’s company placed a successful bid last year to host the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation’s 2025 Ice Climbing World Cup. The Longmont Climbing Collective is contracted to host the event for the next five years.
From Feb. 22-23, the Longmont Climbing Collective will host 150 athletes from across the world. Friday, Feb. 21 is the opening ceremony.
The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, known by its French abbreviation, UIAA, was founded in 1932 and is represented on six continents with 90 member associations and federations in 67 countries. The UIAA has organized ice climbing competitions for the past 20 years.
Hylenski said 2019 was the last time Colorado and the U.S. hosted the World Cup.
“(We’re) pretty excited,” Hylenski said.
Hylenski competed in the World Cup a decade ago when he and his family were living in Korea, so having the World Cup back in Colorado and at his business has him excited. But as his team prepares to host, it could affect the Greeley location’s opening.
Hylenski doesn’t want to put his team through too much, so they may delay the Greeley location’s soft opening until March. But, for now, the target is still February.
Hylenski said the project has also hit some bumps along the way, making opening the Greeley location even more difficult than opening up the original gym in Longmont. Challenges have included an early contractor error and some last-minute compliance changes from the city of Greeley, he said.
Though climbing gyms are typically found in cities like Fort Collins, Boulder and Denver, Hylenski saw Greeley as an untapped market. He hopes to foster a community in Greeley, which he called “overlooked.”
Bianca Fisher, Greeley Downtown Development Authority executive director, said the Greeley Climbing Collective is going to enhance an already thriving downtown by adding more zest into the already successful recipe the DDA is using to keep downtown Greeley moving forward.
“What a cool opportunity for them to come in,” Fisher said. “We see them as such an amenity and such an asset to our thriving downtown.”
The DDA has been assisting on the project for about a year. The property and the building were previously owned by the University of Northern Colorado. Then known as Foundation Hall, it was primarily used as a performance space by UNC’s music programs until the 2019 opening of the Campus Commons. The building was first erected in 1957 as the Colorado Theatre.
Hylenski chose downtown Greeley for its proximity to UNC.
“For us in Greeley … by building it downtown, we’re telling the community ‘We’re going to be here,’ ” he said. “We recognize that this is a historic building. We’re not going to knock it down and build some condo complexes. We’re going to redo this building and make it something that’s going to be here for 25 years.”
Though Fisher understand why some might question why the business is coming to Greeley and its downtown, she said the pairing makes sense once people see what the downtown offers.
“The downtown is the heart of where our creativity (is),” she said. “It’s kind of that hyper-localized space. It almost defies people’s expectations which is really fun.”
Originally Published: December 10, 2024 at 1:29 PM MST