Renovations to the former Tallgrass Brewing Company building have begun for the Bev-Hub project have begun in the Manhattan Business Park near the Regional Airport. Bev-Hub purchased the building to handle their anticipated equipment and expansion .
City officials noted that recently the City Commission voted to approve an economic development agreement with Bev-Hub, which is a company that currently produces and packages beverages ranging from water to juices and cold brew.
The economic development package for the company includes a job incentives grant for $240,500 for an anticipated 37 full-time jobs that they will bring to Manhattan. Payment will be disbursed upon successful hiring and employment for one year. Additionally, Bev-Hub will be eligible to apply for a 10-year tax abatement and sales tax exemption with the issuance of Industrial Revenue Bonds on their proposed roughly $900,000 expansion. It is estimated that the tax abatement annually will be about $35,000 to $40,000.
Bev-Hub will continue to pay taxes on the existing $2.4 million building and plans to invest over $20 million in the facility with equipment, reconditioning and expanding the facility. The company expects to begin production by spring of 2021.