Richmond BizSense takes a look at the numbers behind winning Stone Brewing

“I can guarantee every brewery here has a million and one things they need to do, and the city can be very instrumental in getting those through.” – Dave Gott, Legend Brewing Co.

October 10, 2014; 9:05 AM • by Richard Hayes

Nothing in life is free and in the case of getting a major brewery to move into your city the bill is considerable. The city is betting $31 million ($23 million in bonds to develop the land the brewery will stand on and $8 million for the restaurant and beer garden) that the Stone Brewery facility which includes manufacturing and restaurant pays off.

Richmond BizSense.com has all the details.

The city also plans to throw in $2 million in grant money that it said will come from new taxes generated by the new facility.

“The project is expected to be transformative for the East End,” Tammy Hawley, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said in an email. “It will ultimately represent a $74 million investment in the city, with $41 million in machinery and equipment, $1.7 million in personal property, and a minimum of 288 jobs in the first three years.”

The following quote from Dave Gott of Legend Brewing Co. is also quite telling.

“To bring a major, major competitor into the market – I don’t see anything wrong with it, it’s a lot of jobs – but I think it would be nice for them to reach out to the brewing community in Richmond to see where they can help out,” Gott said. “I can guarantee every brewery here has a million and one things they need to do, and the city can be very instrumental in getting those through.”