When selecting the location for its new destination brewery, Surly Brewing Company chose a Minneapolis site with proximity to a light rail line, bicycle paths, and the University of Minnesota, but the property also had a long history of industrial use and contamination. To understand any environmental concerns at the site due to historic industrial operations, Barr assisted Surly with environmental site assessments and helped obtain $2.5 million in brownfield cleanup grants and loans from local, county, and state agencies.
We then worked closely with the architect and construction company to take into account environmental and soil conditions in the design of the new brewery. Barr assisted Surly and its design team with detailed cleanup specifications and bidding, provided remediation oversight during remediation and construction, designed a vapor barrier system, and upgraded the deep groundwater supply wells. The new brewery opened to the public in 2014. Barr also assisted with an expansion of the brewery in 2016 and 2017.