Schmidt Brewery Lofts

There has been a lot of speculation about the fate of the old Schmidt Brewery. Once a bustling brewery, employing over 400 workers, it has been sitting vacant since 2004. Council Member Dave Thune describes it as a "symbol of the Seventh Street community. We want to bring life and liveliness back into the neighborhood". When he heard of the development proposal from Jeff and Craig Cohen, who finalized their purchase of the 100,000-square-foot, 15-acre complex in January, Dave considered this a welcomed opportunity. This project would be similar to the Carleton Artist Lofts on University Avenue in St. Paul.

Their plan is to create an urban village, named Brew Town. Preserving the historic design, they would refurbish the castle-like structure, transforming it into150 live-work spaces for artists, a series of retail shops, offices, additional housing, and eventually the addition of restaurants and a hotel. The project will include pedestrian-friendly amenities catering to local basic needs such as grocers, cleaners, and theaters.

This $25 million project is designed to preserve this community icon and revitalize the area. The area currently has a thriving arts community, but affordable housing for artists is hard to come by. This project will fill a definite need. The Seventh Street neighborhood of St. Paul is described as an area with a lot of potential, and The Brewery Lofts may set the pace for future developments as well. The Cohen's also plan on incorporating green space and an environmentally-friendly design into the project. Many challenges exist with the restoration of this unique structure including the preservation of its caves, artesian wells and many historical artifacts.

Jeff Cohen is a nationally renowned Washington architect, who is teaming up with his son Craig for this project. Some of his other noted developments include the Waterview at Bayside Portland Maine Luxury Condominiums, and the Maine Lakefront Homes at Sanctuary Cove. He enjoys creating buildings that look like they're part of the neighborhood. In his words "I've developed projects with a few residences and others with hundreds," Cohen says. "They all involve the creation of first-class living space. The buildings I develop must be something that I would want to live in myself."

Posted by Margie Collins on December 13, 2008 at 12:00 AM

About Margie Collins
Margie Collins is affliated with CENTURY 21 #1 REALTY GROUP, which is located in Olive Branch, MS. For further assistance please use the contact information located on the right.

As of 05/23/12 the Margie Collins RePage is ranked at 8,060 with 335 points.

Local Information for Olive Branch, MS

Latitude: 34.963007 -- Longitude: -89.841627

ZIP Codes for Olive Branch, Mississippi	38654
Area Code for Olive Branch, Mississippi	662
Time zone for Olive Branch, Mississippi	CST

Other Area Cities: Tunica, MS Olive Branch, MS Horn Lake, MS Southaven, MS

Enter our Photo Sweepstakes and Win $200 for your Olive Branch photos!

To see random photos for other cities Click Here.

Submit your photos of Olive Branch and become eligible to win $200. Click Here for details.

What is now the downtown area of Olive Branch was purchased by Milton Blocker and Stephen Flinn more than a century and a half ago, on April 13, 1836, from Chickasaw Indian Chief Lush-Pum-Tubby. The 1,280 acres were purchased for $1.20 per acre. The town was originally known as Cowpens, named for the cow pens that lined the primary road. The town was later renamed to Watson's Crossroads in honor of Sam Watson, a Methodist minister at Methodist Church of Olive Branch. This church, originally founded in 1840, is now known as Maples Memorial Methodist Church. In 1846, the town gets its first Post Office and changes its name to Olive Branch. 29 years later, on May 1, 1875, the area composed of 150 people was formally incorporated as Olive Branch. The first mayor of Olive Branch was Ben Wesson. In 1875, he constructs a new home, what is now known as Wesson House. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Mississippi 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Olive Branch	Mississippi	United States
Population	21,054	2,844,658	281,421,906
Median age	33.1	33.8	35.3
Median age for Male	32.5	32.2	34
Median age for Female	33.6	35.3	36.5
Households	7,546	1,046,434	105,480,101
Household population	20,992	2,749,244	273,643,273
Average household size	2.78	2.63	2.59
Families	6,035	747,159	71,787,347
Average family size	3.13	3.14	3.14
Housing units	7,935	1,161,953	115,904,641
Occupied units	7,546	1,046,434	105,480,101
Vacant units	389	115,519	10,424,540

Visit US Census

Enter our Photo Sweepstakes and Win $200 for your Olive Branch photos!

Schmidt Brewery Lofts

Local Information for Olive Branch, MS

Latitude: 34.963007 -- Longitude: -89.841627

Concentrix TSG

The Leader Spanish Real Estate

ATF Forex Trading

Lingerie & Perfumes

Wedding Singer