Neighborhood Notes

I met Kevin from Deschutes the other night at the PDBA meeting. The construction is progressing nicely with an anticipated May 2nd opening date. The brewmaster is scheduled to start brewing on site soon so that they have beer brewed on site for the grand opening.

MMMMMMM, Beeeeeeeeeer. Mirror Pond Ale, Black Butte Porter, Obsidian Stout. AAAAHHHHH!

From the Portland Business Journal:

The Pearl District has an unusually retro addition -- a grain silo.

Installed a few weeks ago atop the former Jim Stevens Armory Autoworks, the grain silo will serve an entirely modern purpose: grain storage for the Portland edition of the Deschutes Brewery & Public House, which is expected to open in the former car repair shop in early May.

The new brewpub is under construction at Northwest Davis Street and 11th Avenue, one block north of the Gerding Theater.

The Jim Stevens autobody business closed about a year ago when an affiliate of Gerding Edlen Development paid $2.2 million for the quarter-block property, which included a historic, 10,000-square-foot garage.

"We're bringing brewing back to the Brewery Blocks," joked Gerding Edlen's Mark Edlen, principal.

The property could have been redeveloped, but Edlen said the building had too many wonderful things to tear it down, including exposed trusses and giant glass exterior walls.

With the Gerding Armory across the street on one side and the all-brick Pearl Garage on the other, Edlen said it was natural to renovate the building, not replace it.

"What really topped it off was the chance to bring in a brewery," he said.

Read the full story here...