GRAND RAPIDS, MI — By the time Founders Brewing Co. is finished with its latest large-scale expansion project, the brewery will occupy an entire city block and have the capacity to make 900,000 barrels of beer.

On Thursday, Oct. 2, Founders will go before the city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority seeking roughly $5.2 million in reimbursement through tax capture funds for its ambitious $35 million plan to double the facility’s downtown footprint and cement its status as an emerging national brand.

“We’re fast-tracking this,” said Mike Stevens, CEO of Founders. “We’re trying to move forward on this as quickly as we can.”

However, “this is still contingent on city and state assistance, here,” he said. “We do need the support of the city. We need this whole city block to produce the kind of volume we need to produce effectively.”

City economic development staff members are recommending approval of a third amendment to Founders’ original Brownfield agreement, inked back in 2007 when Founders was moving from the Brass Works Building to its new facility at 235 Grandville Ave. SW, a former trucking terminal that operated between 1940 and 1991.

The tax increment financing request relates to environmental assessments and mitigation of arsenic and other contaminants in the soil behind the company’s growing facility, which currently spans about 40,000 square feet.

The project involves building out the entire block bounded by Grandville Ave. SW, Finney Ave. SW, Bartlett Street SW and Williams Street SW over two phases, which the brewery hopes to finish by next summer.

Phase One would involve a 37,000-square-foot addition of manufacturing and cellar space fronting Williams Street SW on the facility’s north side, where the company’s rear parking lot is currently located. Phase Two involves building a 20,000-square-foot addition on the southwest corner of the block, presently occupied by a Pacific Pride commercial trucking fuel station.

Bottling line inside Founders Brewing Co.

Founders projects the expansion will produce 70 new jobs. The brewery currently employs about 230 people after expanding its manufacturing and cellar facility, offices and taproom space last year at a cost of about $26 million.

City engineers are hoping to conduct $3 million worth of water, sewer and streetscape improvements along the streets running north, south and west side of the brewery in conjunction with the facility expansion. The city has applied for Michigan Dept. of Transportation funding for that work.

According to city documents, Founders plans to seek assistance from the state’s Business Development Program and request tax breaks for industrial facilities.

Stevens said Founders hopes to break ground on the expansion in late October. The city Planning Commission will review the project on Oct. 23.

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Stevens said the expansion is vital to continue the company growth and expand its market reach. Overall sales rose this year by more than 50 percent over 2013 and Founders has enjoyed a 67 percent compound annual growth rate since 2008, he said, upon announcing the expansion project earlier this year.

The company is having difficulty filling orders for distribution of its beer in existing markets, currently spanning 32 U.S. states and Canada.

Founders projects to hit about 200,000 barrels of production by the end of this year, and is forecasting about 300,000 barrels in 2015, Stevens said. With the latest expansion, Founders will be able to make up to 900,000 barrels annually.

Stevens expects Founders to break into the Top 15 largest craft brewery list by the end of the year. Depending on expansion efforts of other U.S. breweries, Founders could break into the Top 10 list in 2015. It's currently ranked at No. 26.

“We believe that our existing markets will consume most of the volume we have in 2015,” he said. “We’ll start pushing westward maybe in the fourth quarter of 2015, but for sure in 2016.”

“Obviously, our intention is to be a national brand.”

Stevens said the company is pleased to be expanding in downtown Grand Rapids rather than elsewhere. “It was always our desire to build on-site.”

As for the loss of parking spaces behind the facility, Stevens was unable to share detailed plans to replace them, but said the company is working on something that would give the facility “more parking than we currently have.”

“We have a couple very good options in play,” he said.

Garret Ellison covers business, government and breaking news for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at gellison@mlive.com or follow on Twitter & Instagram