ANNA, Texas — Editor's note: This article originally appeared in the Dallas Business Journal here.
This deal is a finalist in the Dallas Business Journal's Best Real Estate Deals awards program. Winners will be revealed at an awards event later this month.
The idea to transform a former city finance and police building into a brewery was sparked by a conversation with a different organization.
The project with that group didn’t work out, but the Anna Economic Development Corporation still believed the location would be a great spot for a brewery. The team went out and met with about three different breweries in the region including 3 Nations Brewing Company. The brewery’s success and history in Carrolton made 3 Nations jump to the top of the EDC team’s list.
“Breweries are very big destinations,” Economic Development Director Joey Grisham said.
“Having 3 Nations will help us attract other venues as well. We talked about a brewery, but at the time, the city didn't really know what to do with that building. From an economic development standpoint, anytime you have a building in a prime corner, you want to maximize that potential there,” he added.
The Anna EDC received a $5,000 grant from the Texas Downtown Association to support the building’s exterior renovations and future public art displays. The team also provided the brewery with a two-year $650,000 grant to support the new space.
Upgrades to the 5,580-square-foot facility include updated sidewalks and landscaping, a patio and stage, public art mural installations and new windows and doors. The renovated location is expected to open this summer.
“It’s really our goal to try to fit into the downtown area without changing too much,” 3 Nations Managing Partner John Royer said. “It's a historic location. We want to try to make it a brewery without destroying the historical aspect of the building."
3 Nations plans to brew beer at the Anna location, which takes a quite a bit of drainage and water usage, along with other equipment, according to Rover.
"That's the one area of the facility that's going to undergo the most change and then the rest of it is just a matter of moving things around,” he said.
The expansion is a part of Anna’s Downtown Master Plan to attract additional retail, restaurants and unique venues to the area. The revitalization effort is focused on adding jobs, sustaining high-quality employment and stimulating the local economy. So far, Anna has invested more than $30 million into its fire station and municipal complex and plans to invest another $30 million into a community center, library and plaza.
“We think we'll see other businesses come out of it,” Grisham said. “Already just the chatter out there with it being in the news has yielded some calls for downtown. Obviously, the city doesn't own a lot of property downtown, but we start sending them to people that own property. We've got a couple of other tracks that we think would be unique opportunities for development. It's really driving conversations that we really weren't having before we landed the project.”
A brewery’s first function is to provide good food and beer, but it also attracts the community and can serve as a gathering spot, Royer said.
“A brewery is a place where you meet your friends, and it's also a place where you meet new friends,” Royer said. “We've had a lot of success in Carrollton. We're doing a cornhole league (and) bingo trivia. We get some pretty large crowds with activities that we do. The feedback we get regularly is it's just great to hang out with our friends and to meet new people.”
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