Irvington redevelopment to include more than brewery

The Irvington Development Organization has received a $500,000 grant from the city to help jumpstart a retail development south of Washington Street that will be known as the Coal Factory.

The property totals 50,000 square feet and is bounded by Bonna Avenue to the north and Ritter Avenue to the west. The development will be anchored by Black Acre Brewing Co.’s new brewing facility, and is targeting a mix of restaurants, retail, artisan food production, arts and entertainment offerings, and shared office space.

“We’re aiming for an eclectic mix that is a little edgier and not just straight retail,” said Margaret Banning, executive director of the Irvington Development Organization.

IDO received financing from Community Development Block Grant funds to acquire the site. It’s partnering with Irvington Brewing Real Estate LLC, led by Black Acre co-owner Justin Miller, to develop it. Miller’s group will be responsible for the renovation and leasing of the property, Banning said.

Irvington Brewing Real Estate is seeking private investments totaling between $600,000 and $800,000 to finish the project, Banning said.

Black Acre received a zoning variance in February from the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission that allows it to increase its brewing capacity fivefold, from three to 15 barrels.

The brewpub will take about 5,000 square feet of space to expand brewing operations in the redeveloped property, at 5543 Bonna Ave., about two blocks south of its brewpub at 5632 E. Washington St.

The only existing businesses in the buildings where Black Acre will expand—a music studio and a landscaping business that also operates an art gallery—will stay. Counting Black Acre, that will leave about 25,000 square feet, or half the space available, for new tenants, Banning said.

She hopes the redevelopment will benefit from the Pennsy Trail, which runs along the buildings and stops at Arlington Avenue. This summer, the city plans to extend it from Arlington to Ritter Avenue and to Ellenberger Park.

“This is the only place where there’s actual commercial fronting [the Pennsy], unlike the Monon,” Banning said. “So this is the one place on the trail where you can stop and relax a little bit.”

IHPC is slated to consider pieces of the Coal Factory project May 7. Completion is slated for December.