Beer Scoops Up Square Footage
Man is resilient and can survive many disasters. But a brewery that has run dry? Not an option. With that in mind, AleSmith Brewing plans to quintuple its space into a 105k SF building it leased from Westcore Properties.
Yesterday, we chatted with Westcore SVP of acquisitions and leasing Hack Adams. AleSmith (named the world's No. 1 consumer-rated brewery by RateBeer.com), plans a substantial tenant improvement that includes raising a portion of the roof to fit their brewing vats. (For once, it's not being drunk that's making the walls move.) Due to the specialized nature, the brewery is handling its own buildout with a significant contribution from the landlord. The building is slated to open in January, and AleSmith expects to ramp up production from 15,000 barrels projected out of its current 20k SF nearby facility to 25,000 barrels in 2015.
The building (9990 Empire St) previously was occupied by an exercise equipment company. Cushman & Wakefield's Mickey Morera, James Duncan, and Jeff Brown repped the landlord while Cassidy Turley's Glenn Arnold negotiated on behalf of AleSmith. Also planned: a tasting room, retail shop, and ultimately a restaurant as well as a cheese-making operation. The latter is a hobby of the owner and involves a similar process, explains Hack. Westcore has another brewery, Bay Bridge Brewing, as a tenant in Chula Vista.
Hack says he's tried quite a few of AleSmith's beers, with names like Old Numbskull and Speedway Stout, as well as a seasonal brew called Evil Dead Red, and pronounces them "very good." The local craft beer industry has a huge following, and new space requirements generate plenty of buzz. Hack says it's interesting to watch them pop up—and not just in San Diego. "We’ve seen other requirements in our portfolios in Denver and Sacramento." It's a growth industry and a positive for industrial real estate because it's another use creating demand.
Last fall, Ballast Point leased a 106k SF building, also in Miramar, for an expansion of its craft beer production. The facility, to be Ballast's fourth and largest location in San Diego, will include a tasting room and restaurant. Voit repped both sides: Jeff Chasan for the tenant, and Todd Holley and Randy LaChance for the landlord, H.G. Fenton.
