April 13, 2016 · Exit133

Another Brewery for Tacoma's Brewery District?

We're not sure how we missed this, but here's some interesting news: the Ram Brewing Company is working with the City of Tacoma on plans to rehabilitate a historic building in the Brewery District.

We noticed this brief note about Ram Brewing's interest in adaptive reuse of the Nisqually Power Station at 2416 South C Street in a City publication from February:

The company recently acquired the former Nisqually Power Station (1911) for adaptive reuse to add brewing capacity and a taproom to its popular chain of brewpubs. Owner Jeff Iverson, Jr. is working with the City of Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission to reactivate the historic south downtown structure. Anticipated opening is 2017.

This would be a second new brewery and tap room space to open in the neighborhood, along with the 7 Seas Tacoma brewery project already underway in the Jet building just a couple blocks away at 21st and Jefferson. Both would be expansions of existing South Sound breweries, taking on the not insignificant work of renovating sizeable historic buildings.

Images included in the City publication announcement, courtesy of Ram Brewing, (shown below) suggest this might be more than just a stand-alone project. Signs in the renderings proclaim "Tacoma Brewery District / Shops - Market - Arts Center," and show what looks like some sort of open air farmers' market or festival.

Are we looking at a renaissance that could see Tacoma's Brewery District living up to its historic name once again?

P.S. Wondering how that 7 Seas project is going? Just yesterday they posted this, with a 13-second video of brewing operations, with plenty of shiny stainless steel, to their Facebook page:

Rise and shine! What's that wonderful scent in the air?! 1st 7 Seas brew at the new Tacoma facility going down. And the 1st brew at the Heidelberg complex in +35yrs...

There's also a note that the 7 Seas tasting room is slated to open this summer.

Filed under: Tacoma Business, Neighborhoods, Eating Local, Historic Preservation, Brewery District, Beer, Wine, Spirits

5 comments

Jesse April 13, 2016

Awesome! I love that tattered brick courtyard there. I hope they use it. Anybody know what's up with the horse stable building? Once upon a time it was going to be part of a public market with an adjacent building. What's the story on that? Anyone? All in all another win for T-Town.
Sarah April 13, 2016

Wasn't this a Chihuly owned building?
- Apitbullnamedplug April 13, 2016
  
  Yes. It was for sale in 2014 when I did a walk through. It's stacked 10-15 feet high with hundreds of boxes of art work. Each box is labeled with the title of the piece and it's dollar value. Standing next to a single stack worth over $100k, my partner noticed and urged me to watch my step- we couldn't afford it if one of us tripped.
joe-nate April 16, 2016

These developments are wonderful. The city needs draws to enhance the pedestrian corridor downtown along the Prairie Line Trail, a public asset that should drive more private job-producing investments. As for the old city stables building close to the Nisqually Power Station and the concept of a public market there, city government should take inspiration from the Santa Fe Railyard project in New Mexico's capital city. The public market there next to the Railrunnner commuter train terminal there for the line running to Albuquerque is vibrant even as it operates in a newer metal-clad building. Imagine if public leadership, which inspired Pike Place Market in Seattle, could duplicate a similar high-quality operation in the historic city stables building. Perhaps that site could be managed by the Thea Foss Public Development Authority, if city government could expand its mission to include that site. Such concern for the public interest helped create the Foss Waterway Seaport. The Prairie Line corridor also seems ripe for the development of housing lofts meant specifically for working artists who are probably getting priced out of Seattle. The neighborhood has the grit and style that would seem to promote creativity and such would build on public investments in the visual arts in Tacoma. As for such artists, Seattle is simple ride north on Sounder when they have business to do there.
altered chords May 11, 2016

how many working artists are working in tacoma looking for lofts to live in? I picture an artist who just finished a sculpture hefting the 900# monstrosity onto the roof of the sounder for the "simple" ride north to collect his/her $8,340.00 from Dooey, Cheatham and Howe who purchased it for their lobby.