Bigger brew pub and new storage center head to East Bay after real estate deal
Plans are pushing ahead for a brand-new and expanded Walnut Creek microbrewery, along with a modern storage complex.
WALNUT CREEK — Plans are pushing ahead for a brand-new and expanded Walnut Creek microbrewery, along with a modern storage complex, with the completion of a real estate deal to replace an older industrial center.
A self-storage company has bought an old industrial and commercial building that will be bulldozed to make way for the new brewing and storage uses in Walnut Creek, public records show.
SecureSpace Self Storage, acting through an affiliate, has bought a property at 2700 Mitchell Drive in the Shadelands district of Walnut Creek, according to documents filed on July 18 with the Contra Costa County Recorder’s Office.
The self-storage firm paid just under $14.3 million for the 7.8-acre site, which is occupied by a big industrial and commercial building that totals 89,500 square feet, the county records and a property brochure show. A team of brokers from MRE Commercial Real Estate had been marketing the property for sale.
The project calls for the demolition of the industrial building and its replacement by a redeveloped and new Calicraft Brewing micro-brewery, along with a big storage complex, documents on file with Walnut Creek city officials show.
Calicraft at present operates a small — yet popular — taproom at the site with indoor and outdoor seating in popup tents. The current venue is already crowded, according to Jeffrey Weil, an executive vice president with Colliers, a commercial real estate firm.
The development plans envision a new Calicraft microbrewery with indoor and outdoor seating in a site that would total about 9,000 square feet, along with a three-level self-storage center that would total 155,600 square feet, the city’s public documents show.
“There are a lot of people who live in the area who want to put their stuff into storage and then have access to it for the weekend or other times,” said Weil, who is an expert on the commercial property markets in the Bay Area. “There’s pretty high demand for self-storage.”
A brand-new Calicraft taproom could be a lively addition to the location, once the project is complete.
“The line is already out the door, especially on weekends, at Calicraft,” Weil said.
A large indoor venue would be poised to greatly increase patronage at the already popular Calicraft taproom. At present, the brewpub operates seven days a week.
“They already have a lot of customers who would like to be able to sit down when drinking their beers,” Weil said.