Set to become the first retail tenants within the Hills City Center commercial development in Minneola, Crooked Can Brewing Company recently broke ground on its newest endeavor — a 42,000-square-foot mixed-use brewery, food hall and taproom.
Crooked Can, based out of Winter Garden, will construct its new facility inside the Hills of Minneola, a 1,883-acre master-planned community from Skorman Development straddling Florida’s Turnpike along Hancock Road.
Centrally located within the Hills of Minneola, the 96-acre Hills City Center will host the new Crooked Can multi-use facility, providing a hub for commercial activity in the community.
Crooked Can managing partner Alan Delahunt said the project will have 2 acres of outdoor space for community events and monthly concerts or festivals.
“We’re kind of trying to design a central park right in the middle of the development,” he said. “It’s why we kind of deliberately picked our location, it’s going to be very central.”
Plans for a farmer’s market — driven by local vendors — are in the works, Delahunt said, as Crooked Can continues work on securing tenants for the facility. With about 12 tenants planned, according to Delahunt, several will be either businesses new to Minneola or traditional mom-and-pop stores.
“Our aspiration is to get these spots leased by the end of May so that we can start working on design and tie it in with our build-outs to all open together,” he said. “Hopefully we open sometime in April next year as one complete brewery and food hall venue.”
Other amenities within the facility will include a stage for live entertainment, an outdoor beer garden and a splash pad.
“We could not have asked for a better first tenant at Hills City Center than the Crooked Can,” Kevin Skorman, owner of Skorman Development, said. “The brewery, taproom and food hall will undoubtedly become the premier community gathering place in Lake County.”
Excitement in Minneola for the Crooked Can facility has already begun, South Lake Chamber of Commerce CEO David Colby said.
According to Colby, a Facebook post highlighting the groundbreaking ceremony is the most popular post ever on all South Lake Chamber social media sites, garnering over 1,100 total interactions.
“The amount of enthusiasm from the local community is really incredible,” he said. “People are super interested, the amount of engagement has been incredible and created a great buzz.”
The Hills of Minneola has nearly 4,000 total residential units planned, including Skorman’s Minneola Hills Apartments, single-family neighborhoods and a Del Webb active adult community.
Plans also include a future AdventHealth hospital, medical offices, retail, dining and an industrial park on about 170 acres.
Skorman is working with Strategic Real Estate Partners on development of the industrial park, selling 83 acres to the Atlanta-based industrial real estate agency for $21.1 million earlier this month. The first phase of Camp Lake Commerce Center will feature two warehouses: a 182,700-square-foot building and 195,320-square-foot building. Future phases will include five more buildings ranging from 140,000 square feet to 336,000 square feet around Camp Lake.
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