Old building, new beer: Beacon brewery gets $450K from state

BEACON - A start-up brewery that is now overhauling an old factory building here has won a $450,000 grant, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.

Hudson Valley Brewery, Inc., a craft beverage brewing company, will use "a grant of up to $450,000" to help with renovations to a factory building and create a tasting room of over 5,000 square feet, a 30-barrel brewing setup and a full canning and packaging line.

A young entrepreneur in charge, John-Anthony Gargiulo, couldn't be happier, or busier. Work has begun on refurbishing a forgotten piece of Beacon's industrial history into a new facility for a new role — making beer.

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In a phone interview Monday, he said the total budget is around $3 million, covering rehabilitation of the building, utilities, outfitting for brewing including the beer-making apparatus, kitchen, serving room and other facilities. The City of Beacon has created a parking lot on adjacent property.

Gargiulo, 39, originally from Highland, has rounded up the rest of the funding from equity commitments and collateral from family and friends and obtained bank loans from institutions in New Jersey.

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"This priority project, which will be completed in January 2016, is consistent with the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council's Plan to further develop the industry and raise the profile of New York's beverage producers," the state's announcement said. It's expected to create 10 new jobs.

Sarah Lee, director of business development at Dutchess County Economic Development Corp., said, "I think the project will contribute to the craft brewing industry in the Hudson Valley and enhance the industry cluster that we've developed,:" she said. It will also help with tourism, she added.

The three-story brick building dates to the 1880s, said Gargiulo. It has a modern one-story warehouse wing. It's adjacent to a prominent structure, known for the Electric Windows project that still displays large paintings filling its windows. The 7 E. Main St. building that the brewery will use is empty and boarded up. Gargiulo noted that it was "hiding in plain sight" behind trees.

It nearly was lost to a housing project that didn't happen, he wrote. "Nearly a decade later, after three failed attempts to find the perfect home for Hudson Valley Brewery, we finally stumbled upon its beauty. And like some of the best discoveries in life, it had been there all along."

Cuomo said $39.2 million in economic development funding has been approved for 34 projects "that are spurring growth and opportunity across the state." The funds have been approved by Empire State Development's board of directors and support projects that are creating 233 new jobs statewide and retaining 1,589 existing jobs.

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Craig Wolf: 845-437-4815; cwolf@poughkeepsiejournal.com; Twitter: @craigwolfPJ