Craft Distillery Slated for the North Loop
By Mike Binkley, North Loop Neighborhood Association
A two-story craft distillery is slated to be the latest tenant to move into a pair of renovated North Loop buildings that date back to the 1880s.
Within the past year, Fairgrounds Craft Coffee and Tea as well as Lululemon have taken up residence at opposite ends of the buildings near the intersection of 3rd Avenue North and 2nd Street North. The distillery will likely open in early 2020 next to Fairgrounds, according to Jeffrey Herman, president of Urban Anthology commercial real estate.
Paster Properties and Urban Anthology purchased the once-dilapidated buildings in early 2017 and have since given them a thorough renovation.
The three-story structure was long known as the Porter Electric building. A painter this week is creating a new Porter Electric sign on the upper south wall of the building. As soon as the name of the distillery is publicly announced, its name will be also be painted on the wall.
A separate white banner has also been painted on the shorter of the two buildings which will feature a more permanent sign for Lululemon as well as for one more tenant, which has yet to be announced.
“Once we’re done with this, it’s going to be a really dynamic spot for the area,” said Herman. “It was a dead intersection before this building was rehabbed.”
Historic photos below provided by Urban Anthology.
