Whats going to happen to the Schmidt brewery?
This time last year, things were looking up for the 150-year-old beer-castle on West 7th. Jeffrey and Craig Cohen, a father-and-son investment team, came on board in late 2007 with a $200 million vision of artist lofts, retail and entertainment space dubbed “Brewtown.” They partnered with the West 7th/Fort Road Federation, a neighborhood advocacy group, and one residential development company, Dominium, had already signed on. But then the economy fell apart and, last November, Brewtown dissolved with it. The Cohens are no longer involved, but that doesn’t mean the plans are off the table. “We still hope to turn it into artist lofts,” says Ken Peterson, president of the Fort Road Federation, which is still in discussions with Dominium and landowner Bruce Hendry about the redevelopment. Regardless of how you’d like to see the site used (do we really need more lofts?), anyone who appreciates the beautiful old structure should look forward to June of this year: That’s when any or all of th
