Two and a half years of planning and construction finally came together on Saturday afternoon when hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the opening of the Titletown Brewery expansion. The $6 million Larsen Green Historical Renovation Project saw phase one open with the expansion of Titletown Brewery and construction of a “tap room” where customers can gather to sample the brewery’s finest offerings.
New equipment for brewing up to 30,000 barrels will provide the needed capacity for Titletown to sell its beer throughout the state. And the renovated facility provides the necessary room to add a bottling operation. The facility has been transformed from a cannery to a brewery, adaptive re-use in one of the highest forms.
Brent Weycker, President of Titletown Brewery Co., was excited the day was finally here. “It gives us a chance to get our beer throughout the state and it helps as a tourist destination for local residents to show off a place of historical significance!”
Jim Kratowicz, Titletown’s Chief Operating Officer, echoed these comments and he noted how the renovation restored original window openings resulting in an attractive exterior and bringing sunlight into the building for the first time since 1925. “This is a game-changer for this neighborhood. To take a building of this nature and turn it into a destination place is very special!”
The Larsen Cannery renovation project isn’t completed yet. Phase two calls for construction of a Public Market, a farm to table food concept featuring local food sourcing of meats, cheeses, & vegetables directly from local farms to local tables. In addition, apartments will occupy the remaining space.
Smet is a partner in the project and helped put together the use of state historical tax credits as part of the financing package. The project is the first in the state to utilize the new historic tax credits implemented last December by Governor Scott Walker and the Wisconsin legislature. The credits are used as an additional funding source because of a transferability provision that in effect brings additional equity to the project, and provides a needed source to bridge the financing gap that often occurs as a result of re-using outdated but historical buildings.
For more information:
Greg Polacheck , Director of Market Research
[email protected]
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