North Virginia Oceanfront Hotels|"Developers Want City's Help To Build New Hotel At Old Brewery"

Source              :    twincities.com
Category         :    North Virginia Oceanfront Hotels 
By                   :    Mary Divine
Posted By      :    Hotels in Virginia Beach North Courtyard

North Virginia Oceanfront Hotels

Developers are proposing a $10 million makeover of the Joseph Wolf Brewery block in downtown Stillwater that would create a 40-room boutique hotel, restaurant and retail space.But before plans for "The Stillwater" at Main and Nelson streets can proceed, developers say they need more than $1 million in city subsidies. Representatives from Stillwater Caves LLC will be at the city council meeting Tuesday to ask for $1.15 million in tax-increment financing. The project, which would overhaul four buildings -- including some that date back to the 19th century -- depends on the TIF assistance, said Corey Burstad, project developer.

"The benefit to the city and to Main Street would be significant," he said. "We're trying to restore the property before it falls down. The building has to have a purpose now, or it's only going to get worse if it doesn't get restored. Structurally, it's very rough." Burstad said the redevelopment could transform downtown. "I believe it will be the new front door of Stillwater," said Burstad, who owns the Elevage Group in Blaine. The hotel is expected to provide six to eight full-time jobs and eight to 10 part-time jobs, according to information Stillwater Caves LLC submitted to the city. The restaurant should maintain four or five full-time jobs and eight to 12 part-time jobs; retail space could add six or seven full-time jobs. Stillwater Caves is working with Raffaele Virgillo, who owns Luna Rossa Trattoria & Wine Bar at the site, Burstad said. "We are 'reconcepting' the restaurant and hotel together," he said. He also said they were working with Virgillo on future plans for the site. Bill Turnblad, the city's community development director, said the city's TIF policy encourages reusing historic buildings and creating jobs. "Those two are hit solidly by this project," he said. "They're going to ... give that block another generation of life."

Turnblad said the funds under consideration would come from an existing retired TIF district. "Those monies are sitting in an account for economic development," he said, explaining that the $1.15 million would be borrowed from the retired district and paid back over 15 to 25 years using funds from the new district. But Mayor Ken Harycki said he would want to learn more about the project before signing off. "My antennas are up on it," he said. "I'm just not convinced this is the right project. They're moving very fast with very little information. I have hesitations about the viability of a hotel there. ... If that hotel failed, taxpayers would be left holding the bill." If the council approves the TIF funds, construction would start in December and the hotel and restaurant would open next summer, Burstad said. The site, which is owned by Stillwater Caves investor Tim Chies, has a long and storied history.

Martin Wolf established a brewery at the site in 1868, according to Brent Peterson, executive director of the Washington County Historical Society. Wolf constructed a one-story, 40-by-50-foot wooden building and conducted business there until March 1871, when the business passed into the ownership of Wolf, Tanner and Co. The building burned a year later, and the company rebuilt with stone, Peterson said. Joseph Wolf, brother of Martin, bought the business in 1876. Four years later, a brick office block was built adjoining the brewery. The firm was dissolved then incorporated as Joseph Wolf Co. in 1896, with Joseph Wolf as president. The new firm included three of Wolf's sons and two sons-in-law, Peterson said. Joseph Wolf Brewery was one of the largest breweries in Minnesota during the 1890s, Peterson said. "It operated successfully until the onset of Prohibition in 1920," Peterson said. "Joseph Wolf died in 1921. Many people still believe it was Prohibition that killed him."

Source:twincities.com/washingtoncounty/ci_24081094/downtown-stillwater-developers-wants-citys-help-build-new