Downtown brewery will receive tax abatements

At its Nov. 1 meeting, Springfield City Council unanimously approved a tax abatement agreement for the development of a downtown microbrewery.

The agreement between the city and developer Jeff Schrag’s Ozark Mountain Redevelopment Corp. allows for a 25-year abatement of property taxes on roughly 4 acres near West Walnut Street and South Grant Avenue. Schrag plans to build a $1.76 million microbrewery at 727 W. Walnut, the former site of the Interstate Bakeries Corp.'s Butternut Bread bakery.

The brewery, which is expected to employ 20 full-time workers, will primarily be a wholesale facility, though a small tasting room is under consideration, said City Manager Greg Burris during an Oct. 26 public hearing.

For the first 10 years of the development, Ozark Mountain Redevelopment Corp. will receive 100 percent abatement on real property taxes and any improvements to the property. During the next 15 years, the developer would receive a 50 percent abatement of taxes.

According to city Senior Planner Matt Schaefer, the proposal satisfied the “but for” test, which asks the developer to demonstrate that a project would not happen “but for” receipt of the tax abatement.

Read more about the Nov. 1 City Council meeting in Springfield Business Journal’s Nov. 8 print edition.

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