The city and Stone are looking to demolish the Intermediate Terminal building. (Mike Platania)
It will be another month before the future of Stone Brewing’s Richmond bistro becomes more clear.
A City Council resolution that would allow Stone and the city to demolish the long-dormant Intermediate Terminal building at 3101 E. Main St. and construct a 12,000-square-foot restaurant and taproom in its place has been delayed until the council’s April 23 meeting.
The resolution was initially on Monday’s council agenda. Council approval is needed to amend the 2015 agreement between the brewery and the city.
The effort to raze the nearly century-old building in the Fulton neighborhood is a change of course for the city and Stone, as they previously had agreed to convert the dilapidated 30,000-square-foot structure into the brewery’s World Bistro & Gardens.
They claim an engineering report determined the building is not structurally sound enough to be renovated to house the venture.
The 2015 deal that helped bring Stone to Richmond included $8 million in bonds the city would float to pay for construction of the restaurant and taproom, in exchange for Stone leasing the site for at least 25 years to cover the debt. The city’s portion of that deal will not be increased as a result of the plan change.
The agreement also included $23 million in bonds the city provided to build Stone’s nearby production facility in Fulton, which opened in 2016. That side of the deal also involved a 25-year lease, with the brewer paying rent, real estate taxes, maintenance costs and insurance.
The city and Stone are looking to demolish the Intermediate Terminal building. (Mike Platania)
It will be another month before the future of Stone Brewing’s Richmond bistro becomes more clear.
A City Council resolution that would allow Stone and the city to demolish the long-dormant Intermediate Terminal building at 3101 E. Main St. and construct a 12,000-square-foot restaurant and taproom in its place has been delayed until the council’s April 23 meeting.
The resolution was initially on Monday’s council agenda. Council approval is needed to amend the 2015 agreement between the brewery and the city.
The effort to raze the nearly century-old building in the Fulton neighborhood is a change of course for the city and Stone, as they previously had agreed to convert the dilapidated 30,000-square-foot structure into the brewery’s World Bistro & Gardens.
They claim an engineering report determined the building is not structurally sound enough to be renovated to house the venture.
The 2015 deal that helped bring Stone to Richmond included $8 million in bonds the city would float to pay for construction of the restaurant and taproom, in exchange for Stone leasing the site for at least 25 years to cover the debt. The city’s portion of that deal will not be increased as a result of the plan change.
The agreement also included $23 million in bonds the city provided to build Stone’s nearby production facility in Fulton, which opened in 2016. That side of the deal also involved a 25-year lease, with the brewer paying rent, real estate taxes, maintenance costs and insurance.
Bizarrely missing from this story and the details of the agreement is the option that Stone will have at the conclusion of their 25 year lease which will repay the debt the city incurred to build the brewery. Bloomberg reported that is was the first publicly financed brewery in the country! At the conclusion of the lease, Stone will have the option to purchase the land (20+ acres near the river and with some with river frontage) and improvements for $10,000. Corporate give away. For what? Private profit for Mr. Koch and his investors.
Don’t forget either the $3 million, I believe, the City had to borrow from Stone at interest to replace the top soil at the brewery site.
And don’t forget that they contested their assessment in 2016. How did that turn out for them? From RTD, “As currently assessed, Stone would be required to pay an estimated $12.2 million in real estate taxes through 2040. Stone is pushing to have that reduced to $3.1 million”
Some community partner! 😀