Schmidt Brewery's Rathskeller Building Sold For $1

One of the last vacant properties of the Jacob Schmidt Brewery will soon see new life.
 
The City of St. Paul’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority approved a $1 sale of the brewery’s Rathskeller building, located along West Seventh, to the same developer who is repurposing the nearby Schmidt keg house.
 
Once completed, the building is expected to house several businesses, including a German-style beer hall in the historically preserved basement space and a courtyard café.
 
The Pioneer Press reports that the developer, Craig Cohen, has “no desire” to make large changes to the beer hall space, preferring to “sweep the floors, wipe the tables and find a good German restaurant to serve food and beer.”
 
The redevelopment is part of complete overhaul of the brewing complex, which was once one of the city’s largest employers. Affordable housing developer Dominium opened income-restricted artists apartments in the brewing and bottling facilities in 2014. The keg house will open in 2018 as the Keg and Case Market, which will include a craft brewery plus restaurants from the big names behind Revival, Hola Arepa and Five Watt Coffee.
 
Wednesday’s vote transfers a development agreement for the building from the Fort Road Federation, a neighborhood nonprofit development company that received city money to purchase the property in 2011. The $1 sale is contingent on Cohen securing financing. Once the redevelopment is complete, the building is also eligible for nearly $1.3 million in tax-increment financing—a subsidy previously granted to the Fort Road Federation that comes with the sale. City staff said such a subsidy was necessary to ensure the project was completed.