WareTranz bringing life back to old Jax Beer brewery
A look inside the last brewery built in the country before Prohibition and one local entrepreneur's plans to create jobs and economic activity in the inner city by bringing it back online.
Successful Examples of Similar Large Scale Industrial Adaptive Reuse Projects
They say there’s nothing new under the sun. For inspiration, here’s a examples of large abandoned industrial sites that have come back to life with a mix of new and innovative, community enhancing uses.
1. Sloss Furnances
Birmingham, AL
Established by Colonel James Withers Sloss in 1882, Sloss Furnances produced pig iron from 1882 to 1971. In 1981, the Birmingham landmark became one of the first industrial sites to be preserved and restored for public use, offering a glimpse into the South’s industrial past. Today, it lives on as an interpretive museum of industry, hosting a nationally recognized metal arts program, while also serving as a festival and concert venue.
https://www.slossfurnaces.com/
2. Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant
Richmond, CA
Between 1930 and 1955, the 500,000-square-foot Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant, designed by architect Albert Kahn churned out millions of vehicles including Model A, Model AA and Mercury brands. With Civilian automobile manufacturing banned during World War II, the plant switched to assembling jeeps, tanks and other military vehicles for the war effort. After the war, the plant returned to Civilian use with 1,600 workers assembling 325 cars and trucks each day. In 1955, the place closed and replaced by a larger assembly plant in Milpitas, CA.
Acquired from the City of Richmond Redevelopment Agency in 2004, Orton Development, Inc. has successfully brought life, jobs and activity back to the 26.5-acre industrial site. Now 90% leased, tenants include SunPower, Columbia Sportswear and Ekso Bionics. Other unique use of the space include the redevelopment of the plant’s Craneway and Boilerhouse.
Inside the Craneway (Julie’s Jaunts)
The Craneway Pavilion is a 45,000 square foot portion of the former assembly plant that is rented for a variety of uses including corporate meetings, speaking engagements, weddings, public festivals, expos, art performances and concerts. Located adjacent to the Craneway Pavilion is the Assemble Restaurant. This American cuisine style eatery is set against the backdrop of original equipment from the assembly plant’s boiler room.
https://www.ortondevelopment.com/project/ford-point/
3. Florida Juice, Inc
Lakeland, FL
Interstate Commerce Park(Lakeland Economic Development Council)
Built in the late 1950s by Kraft Foods, this Lakeland citrus processing and packaging plant, capable of squeezing six million 90-pound boxes of oranges closed for good in 2001. While nothing special from a historical or architectural standpoint, it was a facility built to manufacture and package fruit juices, canned soft drinks, carbonated waters, frozen fruits and vegetables. Employing as many as 165 in 1993, its list of reusable facilities included a cattle-feed operation where citrus peels were cooked and pressed into pellets and 201,651 square feet of cold storage space.
In 2008, BecKryger Capital Partners LLP began the transformation of the closed 136-acre site into the Interstate Commerce Park. In eight years, an additional 476,000 square feet of warehousing, distribution and manufacturing space has been added to the site. Tenants include GTECH Printing Corporation, Pepsi Beverages, Boone Distributors, Lakeland Cold Storage, Inc. and Brew Hub.
Brew Hub’s tap room(Rustic Grain)
Illustrating the potential of reactivating older industrial sites with modern uses taking advantage of the shared economy, Brew Hub is a 64,000 contract craft brewing facility and tap room. Armed with a maximum capacity of 250,000 barrels, , Brew Hub enables craft brewers to expand to new markets, while reducing transportation costs and capital investment in equipment. Popular brewers taking advantage of Brew Hub include Tampa’s Cigar City, Iowa’s Toppling Goliath and Asheville’s Green Man.
Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com
© 2016, Ennis Davis, AICP