From beer garden to bike lanes, New Belgium has big plans for Asheville brewery

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New Belgium brewery officials held a public meeting Wednesday night to tell Asheville about its preliminary plans for the new $175 million brewery it plans to open near the River Arts District. Here are some highlights.

First, from Tony Kiss aka The Beer Guy at the Asheville Citizen-Times:

New Belgium will make many improvements to the 18-acre Craven Street property, including a European-style beer garden, improved drainage, widened roads, bike lanes and sidewalks, company officials said. “I understand that you are nervous,” New Belgium CEO Kim Jordan told a standing-room-only crowd that poured into the banquet hall at U.S. Cellular Center. …

At the meeting, conceptual brewery drawings were unveiled that included a “liquid center” tasting room, brewhouse, malt building, offices, packaging site and a cellar space. A warehouse center will be built off-site at a location not yet decided, said Jennifer Vervier, New Belgium’s director of strategic development and sustainability.

The project will be elevated to keep it out of the 100-year flood zone of the nearby French Broad River. Many trees on the site will remain, and native vegetation and a mostly dry stream bed on the property will also be restored. Of the buildings now on the old Asheville stockyard site, some will be recycled.

And from Jake Frankel, reporter for the Mountain Xpress, who tweeted the event (presented in reverser chronological order):

City will build public parking lot and river access point on its property between access of Emma Rd and Craven St

A big water quality restoration effort is on tap for a small stream that flows down through west AVL to site along Waynesville Rd

Steep side slopes along river are a challenge to building greenway, they’ll have to be stabilized, says engineer

Eventually, greenway on @newbelgium site will connect to other greenways extending to Carrier Park along river

The Craven / Emma / Hazel Mill intersection will be turned in to a 4 way stop. Craven will have bike lanes on both sides.

Engineer: The project will be a “complete streets” design. More applause.

Jackson says bike lanes, greenways, sidewalks, river access all coming to the Craven St. area. Crowd applauds.

@newbelgium will provide covered bike parking!

City manager Gary Jackson: These are great people to work with. It just blows me away.

Paul Mills, landscape architect, says: the brewhouse is the “cathedral” on the site, “where the beer gets made”

The @newbelgium plan calls for a pavilion and lawn for concerts, other entertainment events.

An open beergarden is likely to be on the @newbelgium site near river. Visitor parking will accesible near Haywood

Lanscape architect says @newbelgium is looking for ways to reuse storm water for irrigation on site

Architect says @newbelgium will reuse as much wood, metal, other materials from the current buildings on the site as possible.

Designs show buildings with lots of light, windows. Many have the feel of greenhouses.

Crowd applauds when @newbelgium architect says design calls for leaving as many trees as possible on site.

The @newbelgium design breaks down the scale of building to make it fit the community by dividing it w/ “elevations” (sections)

Architect shows drafts of @newbelgium facility; tasting room will b in seperate building on river, South, towards Haywood rd

Beer will start being produced at the AVL @newbelgium facility in early 2015.