Soon, a building in Minneapolis's Northeast Arts District that sat vacant for a year will become a hub for beer, art, and solar power.
It's been dubbed the Solar Arts Building, according to Nathan Berndt, a cofounder of
Indeed Brewing Company, which will be its anchor tenant on the first floor.
In the past, the 1914 building had various uses, including housing a Sears Roebuck distribution center and more recently, an electrical transformer company, before it went through foreclosure stages, according to Indeed Brewing information.
Besides the brewery, artist-geared spaces, some of which have already been snatched up, will fill the building's remaining two floors.
It’s an ideal location for the new brewing company, which recently signed a lease for the space with building owner Duane Arens, Berndt says. “We’re involved in the community and we support being in a place for people to come together,” especially artists, he says. “We like being around creative people.”
Another dimension of the brewing company will be a public taproom, for which the design is still being developed.
A strong visual feature will be the building’s original wood columns, which lend a turn-of-the-last-century warehouse feel, he says.
Sustainability is also an important aspect of the building’s overall rehab. On the building’s rooftop a sizable solar array will be installed. It’s also getting new energy-efficient windows and mechanical systems, Berndt says.
The effort to go green is something that’s important to the brewing company, as well, he adds.
“This sleepy dead-end adjacent to the
Northstar Commuter Rail tracks will be a bustling intersection of art, craft beer, solar power, and urban revitalization,” the brewing company’s website states.
Indeed plans to open this summer.
Source: Nathan Berndt, cofounder, Indeed Brewing Company
Writer: Anna Pratt