The $120 million redevelopment of the former Gunther and National breweries in Brewers Hill is nearing completion.
The Gunther, a 165-unit apartment building at 1211 South Conkling St., opened its first units to tenants last month and the final units will be ready for leasing by March. The apartment building is the last step in the multi-year redevelopment of the two historic breweries located east of Canton.
The Gunther consists of studios, one- and two-bedrooms. Rents range from $1,390 to $2,766, says David Knipp, of Obrecht Commercial Real Estate, the project’s developer.
The Gunther has a restaurant space and a couple of prospective tenants have expressed interest, Knipp says. None have signed so far although he hopes to be able to make an announcement by spring.
Knipp says the Gunther is actually composed of four adjacent buildings, some connected to each other, that were built over time, from the mid-19
th to the mid-20
th centuries. The buildings take up almost an entire city block.
The Gunther Brewery and the National Brewery, home of Natty Boh, make up the total 30-acre, two million-square foot project. The project required state and local historic commission approval and received state historic tax credits. It features an office, residential and complex on Toone, Dean and O’Donnell streets, whose buildings have names like Natty Boh, Grain, Malt, Lager and Ale. It also includes the Shops at Brewers Hill, on Boston Street.
The renovation of the four buildings into the 250,000 square foot, five-story Gunther began in 2011. “It was a long process that required demolition of floors and interior walls,” Knipp says. One of the four buildings was turned into a parking garage.
Knipp says a five-acre lot still remains in the development complex but no decision has been made what to do with it.
“It’s been a wild ride these last seven, eight years,” he says. “We want to catch our breath.”
Source: David Knipp, Obrecht Commercial Real Estate
Writer: Barbara Pash,
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