Not trying to be accused of awakening a dead thread, but does this project still have any life to it?
Yes, happy to report there is a lot of life in this project. The issues are a couple fold:
It's zoned Industrial Light, which basically doesn't allow any kind of out door use at all. We tried a couple different ways to get there using variance application, administrative deviation, to no avail. Bottom line we are currently doing a PUD rezoning, which is a long and political process that includes a couple of trips through the entire city council. Hopefully we can convince the powers that be that this is a good thing for the area and that we have a plan for the property that will work (i.e. parking, hours, etc.) and we can get this approved.
In short my vision for the property is a tap room and bier garden in/around 633 which is the brewery building and an event space in 601 which is the Klutho. I didn't know it was a Klutho building when I bought it but when I found out I felt like I owned a piece of art. I want to take our time and do this right, get all the ducks in a row so to speak and really have something that works well for our business and the community.
I think this little strip of Myrtle between Beaver and Forest streets is really unique in our city. It has a number of old warehouse buildings with a lot of character and it's proximity to downtown and other developments makes it uniquely suited for a warehouse district type of redevelopment. Without a huge budget most of these buildings could be reused as venues for music or other entertainment, spaces for non profit organizations, etc. When we get ours up and running it will bring people down there, once that happens I am confident others will see the potential and hopefully come along.
