Brooklyn Brewery Looks to Invest $80M in New Facility at Stewart Int. Airport
John Jordan | November 14, 2016
NEW WINDSOR, NY—The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Board of Directors tabled a plan that would have Brooklyn Brewery invest at least $80 million on a new 250,000-square-foot facility on vacant land at the industrial park at Stewart International Airport Industrial Park.
The PA Board on Nov. 17th tabled the proposal that calls for the authority to enter a 60-year lease with The Brooklyn Brewery Corp. on a parcel of approximately 823,284 square feet of land. According to the resolution before the Port Authority Board, the proposed new lease would take effect on or about April 1, 2017 and would provide for the construction of a new brewery, warehouse and visitor/retail center. The new facility would total at least 250,000 square feet and could be expanded to as much as 350,000 square feet. If the resolution is approved, a 60-day due diligence period would begin before the lease to perform soil, geotechnical and other testing of the undeveloped site. During the 60-day period, Brooklyn Brewery could elect to terminate the lease, to the extent that it no longer wishes to proceed with the development, the PA resolution states.
According to the resolution, rent payments would begin at the earlier of three years from lease commencement or Brooklyn Brewery’s occupancy of the new brewery. The aggregate rental under the terms of the lease would be $30.1 million. The Port Authority Board was also to consider the payment of $109,000 in brokerage fees to Newmark Grubb Knight Frank for services rendered in securing the lease with Brooklyn Brewery. The Brooklyn Brewery plan could once again come up for discussion at the Port Authority Board’s December meeting.
The documents stated that NGKF was retained to support marketing and lease up at the Stewart International Airport Industrial Park in connection with the Start-Up New York program. However, Brooklyn Brewery ultimately chose an alternate site on the Stewart airport grounds and will be taking advantage of other incentives offered by New York State in housing operations at the airport other than the Start-Up New York program. Brooklyn Brewery is hoping to extend its lease at its flagship brewery in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, but is also developing a new brewery location at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and is also considering expansion on Staten Island as well.
Officials with Brooklyn Brewery could not be reached for comment at press time.
Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus said that the project would generate approximately 100 permanent jobs upon completion and would make the airport a tourist destination. Neuhaus said Brooklyn Brewery would produce about 400,000 barrels of beer a year at its new facility.
“It is going to be a tourism draw,” he said. “We expect thousands of people a week to come to this (brewery).” Brooklyn Brewery would join a growing list of specialty food and beverage companies operating in Orange County, including Newburgh Brewery on the Newburgh waterfront, Clemson Brothers Brewery in Middletown, Pine Island Brewing Co. in Pine Island and Angry Orchard in Walden to name just a few.
Maureen Halahan, president and CEO of the Orange County Partnership, added, “This is an extremely important project and one that the Governor’s Regional Economic Development Council supported very strongly and really wants here in the Hudson Valley and there is no better place to locate it than our regional international airport.”
Editor, Real Estate In-Depth