By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Greystone was the big winner at the inaugural Ignite Rural Business Competition put on by Great Bend Economic Development and Network Kansas last October. The future event space in downtown Great Bend won the $50,000 grand prize in the contest. Andrea Bauer, one of the partners of the business, said renovations must come first.
"We'd looked at it multiple times, but being a historic building, renovations are not for the faint of heart," she said. "It takes more time and more resources, to be honest. We looked for stained-glass vendors and in about a four-state region, Hoefer's Stained Glass in Hutchinson is the expert."
Finding an expert was merely step one. Bauer, along with co-partners Rob Bauer, and Matt and Dena Hiss, had to wait until Hoefer's could find supplies and fit them into an already busy schedule. Work has been ongoing since the fall, and Greystone is ready to debut its renovated windows this weekend.
"It was a very in-depth process," Bauer said. "There were boom lifts and heavy equipment on site for multiple days at a time. We appreciate the patience of Yours Truly and Great Bend Coffee and their working with us. Now that they're back in place, we're hoping to actually leave the lights on upstairs this Easter weekend so people can drive by and appreciate the beauty of the stained-glass windows. Once we do have an up-and-running venue on the second floor, there will be a lot more life and activity in those windows on a regular basis."
The Greystone Building, located at 2015 Lakin in downtown Great Bend, was formerly known as the Great Bend Masonic Lodge. The building was set in 1928 at the site of the Elite Theatre, with the structure that exists today being built on top of the theatre, adding second and third floors to the former building.
One hundred years ago, street-level storefronts housed several businesses, service providers, and religious groups. The upper floors of the Masonic Lodge served as a meeting space for the Free Masons and Easter Star. The Masons sold the building in 2005, and it was resold again in 2014 to the Bauers and Hisses. In 2021, renovations began on the outside, thanks in part, to the Barton County Façade Improvement Program.
"We are grateful to the Barton County Commission for their assistance through the Façade Grant Program," said Bauer. "Our grant was primarily dedicated to the window restoration and an awning for Great Bend Coffee. In all, we've invested over $44,000 in improvements to our façade. In the face of supply chain issues and our vendor's schedule, the county has been flexible and supportive of us in allowing several extensions."
While renovations continue inside, the stained-glass windows have been a visible component of the renovation. Nineteen windows have been fully restored.
"This is full restoration, not just replacement," Bauer said. "We didn't want to come back with a store-bought window. We really wanted to use the original pieces from 1928 when the cornerstone was set."
Broken pieces of the original glass have been repaired, and all the windows have been reglazed. The metal frames around the windows have been primed and painted.
"They're enclosed in a metal frame, so they're actually operational," Bauer said. "We can open those windows and close them. I think, really by the work that was done to repair and reglaze, they will be good for the next 50 years."
The crown jewels of the façade are two crowned stained-glass windows that depict the Moses brothers.
"Those, actually, were in such bad condition they had to be fully disassembled, then reletted and reassembled back together," said Bauer. "Basically, they are two brand-new stained-glass pieces made from the original components but put back together in their entirety."
In the end, the group plans to turn the Greystone into an events center that can accommodate up to 300 patrons for weddings, corporate events, or non-profit gatherings. Work could be completed by as early as late 2024, but Bauer said 2025 is a more feasible timeline. That's when the winning from the Ignite competition will come in handy.
"Those are the icing on the cake at the end," Bauer said. "They're intended to be for more furnishings, audio-visual equipment, tables and chairs, and things like that. They're a small piece of the historic renovation puzzle, but really, there are programs through the state historical society and federal programs that are helping make this a reality with tax credits and things like that."