Capital Ale House Receives Preliminary Incentive Approval

As mentioned previously, Fredericksburg officials are considering $100,000 in incentives to help bring the Capital Ale House to downtown Fredericksburg. The first of the incentives were approved in committee on Thursday. In "Ale House gets $25,000 grant" the Free Lance-Star reports:

Capital Ale House received approval Thursday night for a $25,000 grant to help offset nearly $1 million in renovations at its planned Caroline Street location.

Fredericksburg's Economic Development Authority approved the grant on a 4-1 vote. It's contingent on City Council's approving the rest of the $100,000 incentive package for the Ale House.

and...

[Ale House President Matt] Simmons said renovation and preservation work is estimated at $950,000. The business plans to take down the yellow-stucco facade on Caroline Street to expose the bricks that likely lie behind. It'll gut the interior, refinish the hardwood floors and leave the original brick and wood beams exposed.

"We really like the fact that this is an old building," Simmons said. He wants to "bring it back to as close to what it was as possible."

It is nice to see the City taking steps to promote economic growth downtown. Capital Ale House is expected to add 70 jobs, about half of them full-time and generate $2.8 million in sales per year. The Council memorandum and Capital Ale House application for the grants is available on the Fredericksburg City web site here. I'll plan on going by the site of the former Chords restaurant regularly to report on the progress there.

Read all Capital Ale House updates here.