Vacant riverfront mill may get new life as downtown brewery

With the two historic 1890 riverfront grist mill buildings now stabilized and ready for revitalization, the owners of City Mills are now moving forward with a redevelopment plan – and the primary target is attract a brewery and restaurant to the site.

The property is jointly owned by Columbus attorney Ken Henson Jr. and the Historic Columbus Foundation, a non-profit organization that has been at the forefront of the city’s preservation efforts for more than 50 years.

“We have probably had six or seven representatives from various breweries — most have been from the state of Georgia, but a few have been from the Carolinas,” said Justin Krieg, director of planning and programs for the foundation. “We have had some serious interest, and frankly, we needed to get the buildings to the point where they are today, where you can walk through them safely and showcase the space we have got.”

He declined to name the specific breweries that have looked at the site, but did say some were out of Atlanta and the Asheville, N.C., area. A letter of intent with one of the breweries could be signed in the coming weeks, Krieg said.

The location, just north of the TSYS campus, and its unique space are drawing attention, Krieg said.

The bottom floor of the building closest to the riverbank is drawing the most intense interest from potential craft beer breweries, Krieg said. The building is attached to an outdoor pavilion, which once restored will provide prime dining and entertaining space overlooking the Chattahoochee River and the urban white-water rapids course. The City Mills site is about halfway on the 2.5-mile run from Bibb City into downtown Columbus.

“The most dynamic thing we have is when we walk people in that river building ... and walk them out on the pavilion that looks over the river, both upstream and downstream, it blows people away,” Krieg said. “You can immediately see the potential.”

The hursting frames and milling stones are still in place in the riverfront building. The abutments to the dam that was breached six years ago to make way for the white-water course are also visible.

“When you stand out there, you can understand how all this functioned and how it served as an economic driver for our city back in the early 1800s,” Krieg said. “That’s carried through to today. We are, obviously, seeing a different investment for a different reason, but still bringing economic development to our city.”

Henson and Krieg spent the later part of the week working to drum up interest in the mill and space.

“There is no question that the brewery is a huge piece of this, but we are also looking for people willing to open a bike shop, coffee shop and possibly an exercise studio,” Henson said. “And you will be able to do that right on the riverwalk.”

Another potential incentive is the connection of the Chattahoochee Riverwalk through the City Mills property. Construction on the $1.2 million city project began earlier this month. The riverwalk will split the existing historic structures, creating a path and small plaza area between the buildings.

For more than 15 years the path that runs from near the Lake Oliver marina to Fort Benning has been disconnected at Bibb Mill and City Mills. Federal transportation and local funds are being used to complete the path at those two spots.

“It will be a great place for people to hang out, take a rest off their bike or after their run,” Krieg said of the City Mills connector, which is being done by Southeastern Site Development Inc., of Newnan, Ga.

There is 40,000 square feet of potential restaurant, retail, office and residential space in the two brick buildings on either side of the riverwalk.

“We worked for close to six months with the city Pam Hodge, Rick Jones and all of those involved in the planning and zoning department to craft a plan to run between the buildings,” Kreig said.

The work on the riverwalk should be completed in about three or four months, city officials said. After that is done, the City Mills owners would like to begin construction on the buildings. The goal is to have tenants and be operational by the end of 2020, Krieg said.

“We view the riverwalk as a huge drive, for not only retail and commercial traffic, but also a big selling point for the building,” Krieg said.

City Mills is one of five mill sites included in the Columbus Industrial Riverfront National Landmark District, according to the Historic Columbus Foundation. The property is the last remaining endangered site of the five mills, and it is nationally significant for its hydropower development, milling machinery development and architecture.

City Mills Property LLC, whose registered agent is Henson, purchased the old City Mills property on 18th Street, in May 2015 after it had been under control of the Bowers family for almost a half century. During that time, it had fallen into acute disrepair.

Shortly after Henson acquired the property, the Historic Columbus Foundation joined forces with City Mills Property LLC to save the riverfront structures. The foundation committed $1.2 million to stabilize City Mills. That effort, the largest single investment in the foundation’s 50-year history, has led to the stabilization of the buildings.

Almost a year ago, Green Coast Enterprises, based in New Orleans, signed a letter of intent to work on the project by seeking federal tax credits that will soften the overall costs of rehabilitating the decaying mill structures that date to 1890, with the possibility of new construction.

Green Coast officials are in Columbus this week. The historical and new market tax credits that are seeking to make the project financially feasible are still in the process of being secured.

“With unique buildings like these, you have got to have a creative program to make it work,” Krieg said. “It is everything from coffee shop, bike shop, cafe to residential and high-end commercial office space on the upper floors.”

This story was originally published March 22, 2018 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Vacant riverfront mill may get new life as downtown brewery."