Real Estate BY DAVID DYNAK BrewVolution Sometimes what happens across the border or even across the pond, can have powerful and profound effect on its neighbors. This is especially true of real estate. There is no denying that the gentrification of Brooklyn, which led to its real estate boom has now spilled over to Queens. While residential development in our borough needed governmentled rezoning and has more to do with population growth, economic pressures and the overall urban revival, the makeup of retail and services has a lot more to do with tastes and trends, and the “flavors” of the city’s people. One can argue that Brooklyn, while much more developed in terms of new and inventive restaurants, artsy retail and gourmet grocery shopping, does not hold upper hand over Queens because we have the most ethnically diverse cuisine representation in the entire world. It is expected from the borough that speaks the most languages and features neighborhoods both divided and blended with every imaginable cuisine on the planet. When it comes to beer, however, Brooklyn has been recognized and associated with craft brewing and serving for so long that it is now recognized for it around the world. It takes a certain kind of property to accommodate both a beer garden/micro-brew restaurant and a commercial brewing operation inside a metropolitan area: very high ceilings, large floor plates, outdoor seating (dining) and/or parking (trucks), trailer loading, ridiculous amount of water and drainage capacity, proper zoning and occupancy class, and no objections from the community. Don’t forget the absolute need to get a very long term lease – anything under 15 years is probably too short to recover your investment so good luck finding landlords willing to sign their property away for 25 years! And, if you want to build your brand and blend it into the local lore, you must be close to residential or retail pockets, preferably in a “cool” up and coming location, and near public transportation so you can one day hold brewery tours and tastings for “tourists” from Manhattan. It seems names related to neighborhoods or its flavor are the norm nowadays. Brooklyn Brewery was once a beer made in Brooklyn and Sierra Nevada was a beer brewed in Norther California but today they are internationally recognized brands that not only represent but in way define their places of origin. Rockaway Brewing Company, Transmitter Brewing and Big Alice Brewing in LIC, SingleCut Beersmiths and LIC Beer Project in Astoria, and the latest hotspot for artists, craftsmen and, apparently breweries, Ridgewood! That’s right, the neighborhood loaded with cemeteries and until now just the poor man’s Bushwick will suddenly be home to three brewery operations: Queens Brewery, Bridge and Tunnel Brewery and Finback Brewery. Let’s not forget Bayside Brewery, which is planning a massive expansion and relocation. Each new brand that breaks through seems to either take a bite out of the mainstream beer market share or, fall right into new and growing consumer’s tastes. In terms of profit margins, selling beer out of your own tap room blows revenues from distributing bottled or canned beer out of the water. Consider how expensive it is to brew in Queens. In LIC or Astoria a proper 5,000-square-foot warehouse, a bare minimum to consider any sort of microbrewery, can run you $10,000 per month in rent alone, and the equipment and construction to set up a brewing operation costs at least $2 million. And most new locations will need to be double that size and include a full restaurant to justify the local rents. If you are not familiar with the beer trend surrounding you in Queens, consider this: there is a publication called BREW YORK, which describes itself as “premium New York City beer news, established in 2009.” In September the second annual Brooklyn Pour craft beer festival was held right over the Newtown Creek in Greenpoint, where hundreds of flavors and dozens of brands showcased, and it was held in the recently built Brooklyn Expo Center – the borough’s small-scale answer to Javits Center. And have you heard of BARch Madness, the annual 64-bar tournament to determine New York City’s favorite beer bar? Neither have we until this week! So whether you're up a new aficionado, an investor or end up quitting your job at the lab, growing a beard and starting to brew using your trust fund money or Kickstarter cash, you must take a moment to embrace the new Queens vs. Brooklyn beer rivalry. David Dynak is a real estate broker at First Pioneer Properties and an LIC resident. He’s lived in Western Queens since 1993.
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