St. Paul Brewing sounds alarm over Hamm's site redevelopment
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Saint Paul Brewing is built on the remains of the historic Hamm's Brewery. Photo: Courtesy of Saint Paul Brewing
Saint Paul Brewing's owner wants the City Council to halt a plan that he says would jeopardize his businesses by building apartments on a neighboring parking lot that brewery patrons use.
Why it matters: The council's vote Wednesday could advance a long-awaited redevelopment that promises to revive a site that Hamm's Brewery abandoned in 1997 with almost 200 housing units, a market and outdoor plazas.
- Those plans have alarmed the brewery, whose eclectic patio and cavernous event spaces there have made the sprawling East Side industrial complex an entertainment destination.
The latest: Council members are set to vote to rezone the property — a major political hurdle facing the redevelopment project.
- Saint Paul Brewing's owner Rob Clapp owns parts of the complex — but the city owns the surrounding property, including a 148-stall shared parking lot.
Friction point: Developer JB Vang's plan calls for halving the parking to 70 shared spaces to make way for the construction of 110 affordable housing units.
What they're saying: Clapp, who also owns the temporarily shuttered 11Wells Spirits distillery on the site, says a shortage of on-site parking and limited transit options nearby would make it impossible for existing businesses on the site to survive.
- Clapp questions how the 70-stall lot could accommodate the developer's vision for a new 30,000 square-foot marketplace when brewery patrons already regularly fill the existing lot, even on off days.
"They're taking away parking and adding more uses," Clapp tells Axios. "The city keeps telling me I'll be fine, but they don't provide any evidence that I'll be fine."
The other side: "I think [Saint Paul Brewing] would be a great anchor to the development," JB Vang assistant development manager Stephanie Harr tells Axios. "We're disappointed that Saint Paul Brewing hasn't expressed any willingness to be collaborative."
- Harr said the developer's addition of 70 stalls came in response to concerns about parking, and the project has always called for a separate underground lot for residents of the new apartments and an additional 84 artist lofts elsewhere on the property.
"The future of this site is not manufacturing — it's housing, mixed-use development, and walkable neighborhoods," Council Member Cheniqua Johnson tells Axios, explaining why she supports changing the property's current industrial zoning.
- A spokesperson says Mayor Melvin Carter also supports the project.
Clapp's attorney argues that the proposal before council on Wednesday is illegal because it would result in "spot zoning," creating an island of mixed-use property on the Hamm's site in a neighborhood earmarked for industrial and residential uses.
- In May, most city planning commissioners voted to side with Clapp — but the city attorney disagrees with the commissioners, and the council can overrule them.
- City staff disputed Clapp's arguments. They say spot zoning typically occurs on much smaller plots of land.
What we're watching: Even if the council votes Wednesday to approve the rezoning, the council would need to vote again to approve the creation of a local historic district at the Hamm's complex.
- This would unlock tax credits that are part of the project's financing, Harr says.
What's next: Clapp says if the council approves the rezoning, he'd have to file a lawsuit: "I have no other choice."