The Cincinnati Beer Company has purchased the old Christian Moerlein home and brewery office building on the 2000 block of Elm Street in Over-the-Rhine, and they have tentative plans to develop a brewpub complex on the site.
The buildings contain more than 8,500 square feet, with room for a courtyard and for a rooftop deck with views of the city skyline. Owner Bryon Martin says that the plan is to eventually connect the two buildings but to keep the house as a more laid back space. An adjacent vacant lot could be used for off-street parking.
Until the streetcar line is approved, investors are still unsure about investing in the project, which would cost between $500,000 and $1 million to complete. Although Martin said he would consider other sites in Over-the-Rhine or in his home neighborhood of Clifton Heights, he would like to help the city realize its true potential by making sure that the neighborhood's rich brewing history gets its due.
"No other place in the country I have been to - outside of maybe New Orleans or Charleston - has such an amazing collection of older architecture," Martin said. "This is really a crown jewel. If people would invest their time and money, this area could really be a national treasure."
In the meantime, Martin and his father, who is an architect, have been working to shore up the office building with a new roof and new plywood coverings for the windows - one of which will be adorned with an aerial of the neighborhood with the proposed streetcar route superimposed.
Writer: Kevin LeMaster
Source: Bryon Martin, Cincinnati Beer Company
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