Neighborhood Council To Review Proposed Brewery Project In South LA

Plans to build a new 15,917-square-foot, two-story brewery, winery, coffee roastery, and restaurant project out of an antiquated warehouse property will go before the Community And Neighbors for Ninth District Unity Neighborhood Council on Tuesday, according to the neighborhood group’s meeting agenda. 

Slated for 912 E. 60th Street, the project is being led by South Los Angeles Brewing Company and also involves SoLa Impact, a socially minded Los Angeles commercial real estate investment company that county records show purchased the property through an affiliate for about $6.9 million in 2019.

The existing South LA site used to house a furniture manufacturing and storage facility and still holds its two buildings: one 13,200-square-foot building that will be adaptively reused to make way for the brewery and one 1,740-square-foot shed structure that will be demolished. The larger building will be renovated for the brewery, winery, and coffee roastery, while demolition of the latter will help make room for a new restaurant, cafe, and outdoor stage for live entertainment, among other features, plans show.

“The applicant is pleased to present a restaurant and entertainment venue to serve as a catalyst to revitalize the subject portion of an industrial corridor in the Ninth Council District,” the development team writes in application materials.

“The proposed development will replace a deteriorating furniture manufacture and storage facility with an industrial brewery, winery for wine and cider, and coffee roastery, with a restaurant venue with outdoor dining a large, open assembly area, and stage.”

The project is also part of The Beehive, a new business district described by creator SoLa Impact as the first campus for Opportunity Zone businesses, which are located in designated census tracts that offer investors federal tax incentives. An active Opportunity Zone developer, SoLa Impact has created a $115 million OZ fund and is reportedly aiming to raise $1 billion to invest in minority communities.

On Tuesday, the CANNDU neighborhood council’s planning and land-use committee will review a presentation on the brewery proposal by project representative Nichole Smith of Horizon Development + Entitlement and Craig Bowers, founder and CEO South Los Angeles Beverage Company, the company behind South Los Angeles Brewing Company, the group’s agenda shows. The presentation will be followed by a discussion and possible motion in support of the project.