Fort George Brewery is acquiring, remediating, and renovating the former Astoria Warehousing salmon cannery complex in rural Astoria, Oregon into a 124,000 square-foot brewing, canning, cold storage, and distribution facility that will produce ten million cans of beer annually. Roeder & Company, LLC facilitated the closing of a federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing for the acquisition and equipping of the facility, and sourced $12 million in federal NMTC allocation from Craft3, a regional nonprofit CDFI, with US Bank as the tax credit investor.
In January 2018, Astoria Warehousing shuttered its canning operations resulting in the elimination of 25 blue-collar positions. Fort George will create at least 35 quality jobs and renew canning operations at the site, albeit for beer instead of salmon.
Astoria was known as the salmon-canning capital of the world, and this site represents the last intact cannery on the waterfront. Chris Nemlowill, owner of Fort George Brewery plans to honor that heritage and continue to create living wage jobs in the community.
The craft beverage industry and vacant industrial sites figure heavily in the city’s aim to create 200 high-wage jobs by 2021, putting this project in direct alignment with the Advance Astoria plan.
“Craft3 is excited to support this project as Fort George’s expansion will provide critical mass of employment for potential graduates of a brewer program under development at Clatsop Community College,” said Walt Postlewait, Executive Vice President of Craft3. “In a community that has experienced job reduction in its core natural resources industries, developing projects concurrent with job training programs is essential.”
The economic benefits of this project will be felt beyond the Astoria community. The majority of raw materials purchased by Fort George Brewery are sourced from low-income areas, driving economic activity, job creation, and opportunity throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The acquisition included financing from Craft3, the State of Oregon, the City of Astoria, US Bank National Association, and US Bank Community Development Corporation.
“This project involved funding from public and private sources, and also environmental remediation plans that were coordinated with the State,” said Sara Pietka, President of Roeder & Company, LLC. “The Fort George transaction was complex, but NMTCs proved to be a flexible source of financing to help bring all the pieces of the financing puzzle together.”
For more information on Fort George Brewery, please visit here.
In January 2018, Astoria Warehousing shuttered its canning operations resulting in the elimination of 25 blue-collar positions. Fort George will create at least 35 quality jobs and renew canning operations at the site, albeit for beer instead of salmon.
Astoria was known as the salmon-canning capital of the world, and this site represents the last intact cannery on the waterfront. Chris Nemlowill, owner of Fort George Brewery plans to honor that heritage and continue to create living wage jobs in the community.
The craft beverage industry and vacant industrial sites figure heavily in the city’s aim to create 200 high-wage jobs by 2021, putting this project in direct alignment with the Advance Astoria plan.
“Craft3 is excited to support this project as Fort George’s expansion will provide critical mass of employment for potential graduates of a brewer program under development at Clatsop Community College,” said Walt Postlewait, Executive Vice President of Craft3. “In a community that has experienced job reduction in its core natural resources industries, developing projects concurrent with job training programs is essential.”
The economic benefits of this project will be felt beyond the Astoria community. The majority of raw materials purchased by Fort George Brewery are sourced from low-income areas, driving economic activity, job creation, and opportunity throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The acquisition included financing from Craft3, the State of Oregon, the City of Astoria, US Bank National Association, and US Bank Community Development Corporation.
“This project involved funding from public and private sources, and also environmental remediation plans that were coordinated with the State,” said Sara Pietka, President of Roeder & Company, LLC. “The Fort George transaction was complex, but NMTCs proved to be a flexible source of financing to help bring all the pieces of the financing puzzle together.”
For more information on Fort George Brewery, please visit here.
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