The famous Dinkel building on Main Street, built by one of Carbondale’s original townsmen, William Dinkel, is getting a facelift. A remodeling permit was issued on Oct. 6 and construction is due to begin any day now.
The building’s new owner, Rick Holmstrom, is the chief executive officer of Menlo Equities, a property investment company based out of California. However, he assures that the Dinkel building is a passion project and considers Carbondale like home. He also owns a house outside of town.
The architect for the project is 2757 Design and Koru LTD is the contracted construction company. Much of the work will be focused on bolstering the structural integrity of the building. The design updates, specifically on the exterior, will mimic the original structure.
Representatives of both 2757 and Koru attended a courtesy review by the Carbondale Historic Preservation Commission (CHPC), which occurred on Sept. 1. Overall, the commission was satisfied with the proposed renovations. As noted by Jared Barnes, the town’s planning director, the interior improvements are outside of the commission’s purview.
Some of the notable exterior renovations include facade restoration, window replacement, new awnings and a new storefront off of Main Street.
A few CHPC members encouraged the owner to pursue landmarking the building, to set an example for other historic property owners to do the same.
Some interior renovations will include an elevator, ADA accessible stairs and restroom, a second-floor common area, retrofitted floor structures and fire sprinklers in the basement. The second floor will likely be used as shared office space.
The upstairs business tenants had to vacate for the remodel, as much of the interior work will be on the second floor. Holmstrom said that he does not foresee the downstairs businesses having to do the same, however there may be some interruptions due to construction. It was also noted in the CHPC minutes, “To buffer the current first-level tenants from the construction process, most of the improvements will be taking place from the second level up to the roof.”
Holmstrom informed The Sopris Sun that the cost to renovate the building will likely be more than 50% over what they originally budgeted for — largely due to inflation, particularly in the real estate and construction industries.
It was noted in the CHPC minutes that 2757 had been in touch with a friend of the artist who painted the mural on the west side of the building, who agreed to touch it up once some bricks have been replaced.
An original bank safe in the basement will be brought up to a lobby area to be put on display.