Good City Looking For Good Neighbor At Century City

A real estate investment group affiliated with Good City Brewing still plans to build a second new industrial building in the Century City business park, but it would like to see an additional tenant commit before constructing the building.

In 2018 an affiliate of Good City Brewing purchased the speculative industrial building, Century City 1, for $867,858 from a partnership of the city and General Capital Group. Completed in 2016, it had yet to attract a permanent tenant and Good City acquired it for less than the construction cost. But by 2021, the company announced the multi-bay, 53,400-square-foot building was full, and it planned to develop a second building that is effectively a clone of the original.

In October 2021, Good City CEO and real estate developer Dan Katt secured approval from the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee to exclusively negotiate for one year for the purchase of the 4.7-acre property, 3055 W. Hopkins St., located immediately south of the existing building.

Katt said at the time that interest in modern industrial space was high. On Thursday he returned to reaffirm that interest remains high, but rising construction costs and interest rates have complicated the project.

“Rather than building a spec building… we’re trying to get the tenants lined up ahead of time,” Katt told the board. He said one more tenant is needed to develop the building.

Good City would relocate to the new building. “We are starting to market our [existing] space, so that we could be part of the new space and kickstarting that,” said Katt. It doesn’t brew beer in Century City, but does have its offices and warehouse functions at the facility.

Katt said the building is ideally suited to smaller companies with operational needs in and around the city. He said Good City, with its four taproom locations, can use the facility as a hub.

Other tenants in the first building include Craft Beverage Warehouse, Planet to Plate‘s Hundred Acre urban farm, Klein-Dickert Glass and B83 Testing and Engineering. The one-story building anchors the northern edge of the business park at W. Capitol Drive.

The city has promoted the development as a success.

“This is exactly the type of flexible uses we envisioned for the Century City 1 building,” said redevelopment authority project manager Benjamin Timm during the RACM meeting on Oct. 21, 2021. He said many of the workers came from the surrounding neighborhoods. “I know a number of the businesses in there do outreach to the community.”

“About 500 people come to the Century City business park on a daily basis, there are nine companies there including the Department of Public Works and most of those people live in the city of Milwaukee,” said Timm.

Good Opportunity Fund I, LLC bought the original building, using the federal Opportunity Zone program as an incentive structure. A similar entity would develop the second building.

The board unanimously granted the extension.

Century City 1 Photos