Vote could come Tuesday on planned downtown Albany microbrewery (Atlanta: sale, 2015)

[Airforceguy]

I think this project will be a good thing for DT Albany. The downtown area of Albany has a lot of potential and it needs projects like this to spark interest and growth in the area.

The craft brewery would be located on Pine Avenue property that was formerly an Albany Herald storage warehouse and the downtown Art Park. The 1-acre site will include a newly-constructed 19,000-square-foot building that preserves the facade of the Art Park.

#While officials with Morgan III Properties, one of the holdings of Dr. Tripp Morgan, lauded the proposal as an “exciting joint venture among the city, county and our company,” Albany City Manager Sharon Subadan called the planned microbrewery a “home run” for the city’s downtown redevelopment efforts.

#“This could be the hallmark project we’ve been looking for downtown, the perfect example of a public/private partnership that’s been the basis for our redevelopment plan,” Subadan said. “We’ve been working to find this kind of project, and it could very well be the home run we need to define us as a city.

#“We’re so grateful to find the perfect private investor for our city. Getting this kind of investment from someone local says a lot about their love for their city and their belief in its future.”

#City and Morgan III officials are still working out the financial details of the microbrewery proposal, but Morgan spokesman Albert Etheridge said it would be part of a $5 million-plus project that will include an organic farming operation on 150 acres of land the company purchased in Dougherty County and on separate farms in Mitchell and Lee counties.

Vote could come Tuesday on planned downtown Albany microbrewery | Albany Herald

[Airforceguy]

The Albany commission has given the OK for the microbrewery and mixed-use development...

City Commissioners voted 7-0 to tentatively approve the sale of the 249 Pine Ave. Albany Heights building to Atlanta-based Novin Construction for a mixed-use housing development and also unanimously OK’d a plan to use $1.25 million from the city’s Revolving Loan Fund as a catalyst to bring a microbrewery to property that formerly served as a downtown Art Park.

“This is a big day for the city, a big step forward in our plans to redevelop our downtown district,” City Manager Sharon Subadan said after the meeting. “Once everything has been formally approved and we’ve completed all the paperwork, we hope both of these projects will move forward quickly. That’s our plan.”

Vascular surgeon and Albany native Tripp Morgan said his vision of bringing a microbrewery to his hometown started a decade ago.

“I went into surgery because I like medicine, and I decided to do the microbrewery because I like beer,” Morgan joked as he addressed the commission. “Ten years ago, I started talking about the possibility of building a microbrewery, but things like the economic downturn kept me from moving forward. Finally, the time is now right.

“One of my business associates had been part of opening two successful breweries in Athens, and he felt it was a good time to move forward. (Economic Development Commission President) Justin Strickland and some of the other economic development folks convinced me to start looking at downtown as a possible location for the brewery, and it soon became clear that that would be a win-win for everyone.”

Ward VI City Commissioner Tommie Postell, who chairs the joint city/Albany Utility Board Long-Term Financial Planning Committee that oversees a fund that will be used to partially finance the $5.7 million microbrewery, praised Morgan for his preparation in bringing the project to the commission.

“Bottom line, I think it’s clear that Dr. Morgan and his group have done their homework,” Postell said. “I feel very comfortable that we’ll have no problem with this project. I think this is a very good stimulus for downtown, and I’m confident we’re going to make this happen.”

Commissioners B.J. Fletcher and Roger Marietta and Mayor Dorothy Hubbard also offered vocal support for the microbrewery project, which is expected to bring between 40 and 65 new jobs to the community.

“For any city to be successful (in redevelopment), there has to be private investment,” Fletcher said. “We need people like you to step forward, and we’re going to do everything we can to help make this project successful.”

Albert Etheridge, who works with Morgan on his business holdings, said city officials’ enthusiasm for the project was encouraging.

“Today couldn’t have gone better,” he said. “The plan now is to get this memorandum of understanding worked out in the next few weeks and move forward. We hope to get rolling by the end of this year or the first of next year.”

Novin officials said they plan to develop the 70,330-square-foot Albany Heights building into a 75-unit housing complex with eight commercial/retail spaces on the first floor of the six-story building. The planned $1.6 million construction project is expected to increase the value of the property to $1.9 million, bringing in an estimated $31,116 in property taxes annually.

“We’ve already teamed with a local architectural firm (Yileding, Wakeford & McGee) to work on the project, and once the final vote is taken and the paperwork is completed, we’re realistically looking at starting work in March,” Saeid Sadri with Novin said after the meeting. “We relied on studies that were conducted by the city and hired a nationally known firm to help us determine the demand for housing in downtown Albany. We think this will be well-received.

Albany City Commission gives preliminary OK to microbrewery, Albany Heights projects | Business | albanyherald.com

[AnsleyPark]

Wow! Go Albany!!!

[Airforceguy]

It seems Albany leaders have been on a roll lately trying to jumpstart downtown development. Now they are looking at converting one-way streets to two way. A good move imo...
Albany city leaders to review one-way streets - WALB.com, South Georgia News, Weather, Sports