DETROIT -- Detroit's historic Packard Plant site could house a brewery by 2019.
A "Packard Plant Brewery coming soon" sign was posted to a building in the 1600 E. Grand Blvd. block of the site.
Kari Smith, development director for the group that acquired the massive, crumbling property in 2013, confirmed that an architectural team is in pre-development stages for the project, which will involve renovating the space into a restaurant and brewery.
"We feel that having a local restaurant and brewery adds amenities to the area and offers space" for people visiting and taking photos of the former automobile plant, Smith said.
"We're hoping it helps build some community around the project as well."
Construction is expected to begin in spring 2018 with an expected completion date in 2019.
The Packard Motor Car Company manufactured luxury vehicles at the plant from 1903 to 1958. The sprawling campus later became symbol of abandonment and decay in Detroit, as a haven for metal scrappers and urban explorers.
Fernando Palazuelo, a Spanish-born businessman, purchased the site at auction for $405,000 through his Arte Express company in 2013.
His team plans to make a formal announcement in early 2018 with details of the site's development.
Arte Express is partnering with local restaurants to bring the restaurant-brewery project to fruition, with plans for both indoor and outdoor seating space.
In May, the development team broke ground on a portion of the 3.5-million-square-foot site site, which involves a $16-million rehabilitation of the former Packard administrative office building.
"We knew about Detroit on July 18, 2013, when the bankruptcy was published, so we thought immediately: That's our next place," Palazuelo said at the groundbreaking.
"[I was] impressed about the power, the charisma and the future of the town, even in this difficult year in 2013, where all over the world, nobody thought Detroit was going to be able to survive."
Both the former office building and brewery will undergo construction simultaneously, Smith added.
Developers are also seeking a tenant to occupy the former A&P store at 1577 E Grand Blvd.
