HALETHORPE, MD–Guinness is opening its new brewery here — the first Guinness presence on US soil since 1954, and the first ever purpose-built Guinness brewery in US history. The brewery is an estimated $50 million investment by Diageo Beer Company USA which was announced at the start of the year.

The opening is the latest chapter in Maryland's emerging craft brewing community as JLL notes in new research about the effect this activity is having on local real estate.

The bulk of brewing operations have taken space in industrial buildings, which have adequate water and electrical infrastructure, at an affordable price point, JLL said. However, with an average clear height of 20 feet and year built of 1968, many breweries have filled functionally challenged industrial buildings.

Thus for the last seven years craft brewers in Maryland have increasingly expanded outside of industrial spaces to retail, JLL said. In 2012, a new state law creating the farm brewery manufacturer's license bolstered the craft brewing community with Frederick County's ample farmland capturing the bulk of farm breweries. JLL concludes that:

Growing breweries have given landlords of Class B & C industrial inventory a new pool of prospective tenants willing to sign long-term leases, often in otherwise challenged spaces. Craft brewing's presence in retail inventory has only recently started to grow at a considerable rate, but with Maryland still ranking 36th for breweries per capita, the industry has runway for growth.

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HALETHORPE, MD–Guinness is opening its new brewery here — the first Guinness presence on US soil since 1954, and the first ever purpose-built Guinness brewery in US history. The brewery is an estimated $50 million investment by Diageo Beer Company USA which was announced at the start of the year.

The opening is the latest chapter in Maryland's emerging craft brewing community as JLL notes in new research about the effect this activity is having on local real estate.

The bulk of brewing operations have taken space in industrial buildings, which have adequate water and electrical infrastructure, at an affordable price point, JLL said. However, with an average clear height of 20 feet and year built of 1968, many breweries have filled functionally challenged industrial buildings.

Thus for the last seven years craft brewers in Maryland have increasingly expanded outside of industrial spaces to retail, JLL said. In 2012, a new state law creating the farm brewery manufacturer's license bolstered the craft brewing community with Frederick County's ample farmland capturing the bulk of farm breweries. JLL concludes that:

Growing breweries have given landlords of Class B & C industrial inventory a new pool of prospective tenants willing to sign long-term leases, often in otherwise challenged spaces. Craft brewing's presence in retail inventory has only recently started to grow at a considerable rate, but with Maryland still ranking 36th for breweries per capita, the industry has runway for growth.

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Erika Morphy

Erika Morphy has been writing about commercial real estate at GlobeSt.com for more than ten years, covering the capital markets, the Mid-Atlantic region and national topics. She's a nerd so favorite examples of the former include accounting standards, Basel III and what Congress is brewing.