Submitted by the City of Tumwater
The City of Tumwater, Dana Commercial Real Estate, and Falls Development are pleased to announce the removal of a covenant restricting production of alcoholic beverages from the former Miller brewery property. Prior to this action, the covenant limited redevelopment options for new owners, restricting production of alcoholic beverages on any of the former brewery site properties.
The historic 175-acre brewery site in Tumwater has been linked to the production of Olympia beer and other brands from 1896 to 2003, with the exception of prohibition. When Miller vacated and sold the brewery site in 2003, one of the elements included in the purchase agreements was a restrictive covenant barring future production of alcoholic beverages on all parcels within the site into perpetuity. This restrictive covenant has prevented potential uses that could take advantage of the existing production facilities and the potential to associate this famous brewery site with production of alcoholic beverages, including micro and craft beer operations, wineries, and liquor distilleries. Fortunately, Miller has been cooperative in responding to requests to remove this covenant from the brewery properties.
“This is great news for Tumwater. We are pleased to have this limitation removed and appreciate MillerCoors working with the City and the property owners on its removal. We believe this will open up the property to more options for quality redevelopment,” stated Mayor Pete Kmet.
George Heidgerken, Manager of Falls Development said, “This is a great opportunity to bring back a craft and/or microbrewery to the Brewery District. The buildings were designed for a brewery and the iconic historic buildings should include uses consistent with the historic Olympia Brewery. The reestablishment of a brewery will provide a working symbol of the Schmidt family’s legacy to the South Puget Sound region. We are grateful MillerCoors was amenable to release the deed restriction.” Falls Development owns and is developing the property north of Custer Way. Falls Development owns and is developing most of the property north of Custer Way.
The parcels for sale south of Custer Way, which includes the large warehouses and the large brewing building, are owned by Capitol Salvage and listed by Troy Dana of Dana Commercial Real Estate. About the lifting of the covenant, Dana says, “The brand equity of the iconic site is still remarkably strong. With the recent rezone of the complex this should be an attractive re-development opportunity.”
Additional parcels affected by the covenant removal are owned by the City of Tumwater, LOTT Clean Water Alliance, and South Sound Bank.
The City applauds this action by MillerCoors and believes that it will make for greater opportunities to redevelop the Tumwater brewery into the active, vibrant center envisioned by both the current property owners and the Tumwater community.
For more information, contact the following:
Troy Dana, Dana Commercial Real Estate at (360) 402-5500
John Potter, Falls Development at (206) 579-0088
John Doan, Tumwater City Administrator at (360) 754-4120
