DPJ’s Wire series delivers news and information straight from the source without translation.
CBRE has arranged a long-term lease for State 48 Brewery’s second Arizona location. The local, family-owned craft brewery based in Surprise, Arizona, will occupy 8,024 square feet in downtown Phoenix’s historic Welnick Marketplace.
Photo courtesy of CBRE.
Chris Ackel and Max Bippus with CBRE’s Phoenix office represented both the tenant and the landlord, Welnick Marketplace, LLC, in the lease negotiations.
“We couldn’t be more excited about joining the downtown Phoenix community and taking part in the revitalization of the area,” said State 48’s owner, Mario Rana. “We hope to become a casual, friendly destination to gather with friends, coworkers, family and beyond over a craft beer born and brewed in Arizona.”
The second location of State 48 will feature a 20-barrel brewing system with 40-barrel fermenters, allowing the brewery to produce four-times more beer than their facility in Surprise. Also, this will be serve as the new site for canning operations for distribution.
Welnick Marketplace. Photo: DPJ.
Located on Van Buren Street and Fourth Avenue, State 48’s soon-to-be new location sits at the center of the emerging Entertainment District – a one-square-mile area in downtown Phoenix that was established to attract more businesses to the area and as a result, spur economic development. Prior to this designation, restaurants, microbreweries and bars within 300 feet of a church were prohibited from applying for liquor licenses.
“State 48 is the perfect tenant to breathe new life into Welnick Marketplace while adding vibrancy to this up-and-coming section of Van Buren Street,” said CBRE’s Ackel. “We’re excited to see the tremendous momentum the brewery will bring toward the city’s vision for downtown Phoenix.”
The brewery will be in proximity to numerous music and entertainment venues, including Comerica Theatre, Crescent Ballroom and the new 1,900-person-capacity music venue, The Van Buren. Other nearby attractions include CityScape and the Phoenix Convention Center.
Built in 1927 by Leo and Ed Welnick, Welnick Marketplace (formerly Welnick Bros. Marketplace) first operated as an arcade-style marketplace that featured various grocery and food vendors. The space also housed an auto repair shop and eventually a printing company before sitting vacant for more than a decade. Former PMT Ambulance company CEO Pat Cantelme and former Bar-S Foods CFO James Kuykendall purchased the building in 2014. The property’s restoration was led by Bob Graham, principal architect at Motley Design Group, the firm responsible for projects like the Arizona Opera Center and DeSoto Central Market. Mountain West Construction, led by Mike Cook, was the general contractor for the property.
Welnick Marketplace, which is listed on the Arizona State Historic Property Inventory, still boasts nearly 6,000 square feet of rentable space.
