AMHERST — Fresh into its first spring season of not operating as a mill in more than a century in Amherst, the former Amherst Milling Company building on Union Hill Road is on track to become the county’s newest brewery in late summer.
The vision of Dave McCormack, the developer steering the renovation project, is for patrons to walk into the historic structure and not notice much difference. The goal is to leave as much intact as can be preserved, he said.
“We want the mill to be a celebration of Amherst County,” McCormack said of the ongoing work to transform it into a bucolic setting patrons can drink to. “It’s a super iconic building. We love it for that. We’re trying to change as little as possible.”
This past summer, McCormack’s company, Petersburg-based Waukeshaw Development, Inc., purchased the mill for $350,000. In recent months, workers have been busy clearing the building of historic artifacts — many of which McCormack said will return inside for decorative effect as the brewery is completed — and have put in massive structural work to repair it.
Waukeshaw Development intends to use the mill as an outpost for its existing Trapezium Brewing Co., based in Petersburg. McCormack said the 27-acre property and another 60 acres the company has purchased in Amherst County will be called Camp Trapezium and, in addition to brewing beer with local ingredients, will serve brick oven pizza.
A home on the property will be used for guests to stay overnight, another house on site is intended for employees to use and plans are in place to restore the water wheel in the rear of the facility that once generated electricity, according to McCormack. He estimates 15 to 20 jobs will come out of the business once it’s up and running.
The mill has been owned by only two families since its construction around 1900 and was one of the last standing and able-to-function water-powered mills in the state, according to Amherst resident and former co-owner Richard Wynder. He said his father bought it from the Baldock family in 1940, and the name was changed to Amherst Milling Company.
McCormack said the brewery eventually would repurpose the wheel, which he believes would make it the first hydro-powered brewery in the United States. He said he has researched and can’t find any evidence of another such business.
In a walkthrough of the property Thursday, McCormack said an orchard would be located near the property, and fruits and vegetables would be used as ingredients on the brewery and restaurant’s menu. Brewers will capture wild yeast for ales, use honey and other agingmethods for crafting beverages and the structure’s main level will serve as a brewhouse and taprooms, with upper levels preserved for tours of the historic milling equipment, he said.
“We’re going to broom clean it and walk out,” he said of the upper floors. “A lot of this stuff up there is amazing, and we want to save every bit of it.”
Describing the property next to train tracks with a creek flowing through it as a beautiful spot, he said he did not at first envision it as a brewery. As he thought over it and considered its proximity to the Brew Ridge Trail — which traverses craft breweries in Nelson and Albemarle counties and Charlottesville — its location near downtown Amherst and short distance from the U.S. 29 and U.S. 60 corridors, he said the business idea became clear.
The outdoor area will have a beer garden and walkway, he said. He feels the modern business use will complement and preserve the site’s historic character many area residents cherish.
“The idea is to showcase what was happening here,” he said of the unique structure. “This building tells the story, in lots of ways, of Amherst County and the history that goes back hundreds of years on this property.”
The project is not McCormack’s first venture into Central Virginia. In November 2014, the company opened Bedford Lofts, a 24,000-square-foot, 32-unit apartments project in the town of Bedford’s Centertown District. Last June, the company also opened Beale’s Brewery, a 16-000-square-foot facility in Bedford. The company invested $4.5 million in those two projects, according to its website.
McCormack described the Beale’s site as a former industrial, manufacturing facility with a 30,000-barrel distribution system. Though the Amherst brewery will be a tenth of the size of the Bedford site, its beer will provide “eclectic” beverages for patrons, he said.
In nearby Madison Heights, McCormack also is in the process of working to turna former school on Phelps Road into dozens of market-rate apartments. He said he believes Amherst County is “undiscovered” in its development potential.
“Hopefully we can have a place in changing that,” he said.
Amherst County Administrator Dean Rodgers said the project is much in line with the Amherst County Board of Supervisors’ primary focus of generating economic development. The brewery will become a unique gathering spot that will add to the county’s attractions as the county works to draw more residents and businesses, he said.
Rodgers said of the company discovering and investing in Amherst County: “I don’t think it will be long before other developers do too.”