The Hendersonville (N.C.) Times-News reported today that Sierra Nevada Brewing Company will announce plans this week to build a new facility at the Ferncliff Industrial Park in Mills River, North Carolina.
According to the report, unnamed sources with ‘knowledge of the negotiations’ are confident the brewery will make an announcement this week.
Bill Manley, a spokesperson for the Chico, Calif.-based brewer could not confirm the report.
“Sadly, I can’t comment on any developments regarding our search for a second brewery site at this time,” Manley told Brewbound. “Until a final decision is made and negotiations closed, we don’t feel comfortable offering any comment on the subject.”
On Dec. 12, the Henderson Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to offer economic incentives of $3.75 million over seven years to an unnamed company, which many believed to be Sierra Nevada because of recent visits to the area by company Founder and CEO Ken Grossman. The incentives, designed to help lower costs associated with land acquisition and development, were approved in an attempt to help attract the unnamed company to Henderson County.
The proposed project would involve the unnamed company spending up to $45 million in real estate and up to $70 million on equipment. Manley confirmed to Brewbound last October that the project would cost between $70 and $100 million
Andrew Tate, president of the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development told Brewbound he could not comment on the situation.
Rumors of Sierra Nevada’s search for an East Coast brewery have been swirling for months. Virginia and Tennessee, also mentioned as potential locations for a new brewery, have reportedly been scratched off the list according to local area newspapers. Manley said that an announcement would be made as soon as the company finalized a deal on a location.
New Belgium Brewing, which is also on the hunt for an East Coast facility, told Brewbound that the company’s decision would be made sometime between February and “late spring.” Bryan Simpson, a spokesperson for the brewery said that Asheville and Philadelphia were ‘on the top of the list.’