Neuweiler Brewery redevelopment project delayed until summer

A $30 million construction project at the former Neuweiler Brewery site in Allentown will begin a bit later than originally expected.

Ruckus Brewing Co. plans to establish a full-scale brewery operation and other mixed-use space in the 400,000-square-foot project.

Construction was originally expected to begin by the end of 2013 but now has been pushed to no sooner than May or June, as financing details are still being finalized.

Josh Wood, CEO of Ruckus Brewing Co., said the project's prospects remain good and he is optimistic there will be no need for another extension when summer arrives.

"We're taking it day by day and step by step," Wood said. "I'm an eternal optimist but we're working our butt off to get this done."

Ruckus had intended to close on the Neuweiler property by the end of this year, which itself was an extension of its originally projected closing date in October.

But the closing was postponed again until early March because the company is still finalizing the details with some of its financial partners.

"We're still in negotiations so we weren't in a position to sign them and make it official in December so we just needed an additional few months," Wood said.

The Neuweiler project is expected to produce about 100,000 barrels of beer a year. By comparison, Weyerbacher Brewing Co. in Easton produced 14,000 barrels last year.

Ruckus officials previously said they already had much of the financing lined up earlier this year. The project falls within the city's 130-acre Neighborhood Improvement Zone, which diverts nonproperty taxes for redevelopment projects.

Wood said Ruckus also received about a dozen additional financial partners through ForeFund Capital, a crowd-funding model similar to Kickstarter that is newly available for real estate ventures.

Wood said the first phase of the Neuweiler project will cost an estimated $15 million. Ruckus would be responsible for about $5 million with the remainder covered by a combination of NIZ funds and federal historic site grants.

Source: LehighValleyLive.com