New Belgium Brewing has awarded the construction contract for its $175 million brewery in Asheville to Adolfson & Peterson Construction. Press release here:

Adolfson & Peterson Construction (A&P) was recently awarded the contract to build New Belgium Brewing Company’s East Coast brewing facility in Asheville, NC aka “Beer City USA.”

The planned 150,000-sf facility is on an existing 18-acre brownfield site along the French Broad River. Site work and construction are scheduled to begin in early 2013, but brewing will not officially begin at the site until early 2015.

During the two years of construction, it is anticipated that over 350 construction jobs will be created, plus additional jobs for vendors and suppliers to the project. Maximizing local labor and local supplies is important to New Belgium Brewing and to A&P.

The project team worked closely with the Asheville Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations to get the word out about a subcontractor open house that was held at the end of October 2012. The open house was held at The Lift Studios and was a chance for subcontractors and suppliers to meet the project team and to learn how they could get involved in the project. Over 250 subcontractors and suppliers attended the open house.

“We did not anticipate this type of response,” said Cam Mullins, one of the preconstruction managers on the team. “It was great to see the excitement surround the project.”

“A&P understands this project will have significant economic impact in the community, and we are looking forward to partnering with the Asheville community to build this great project,” said Alan Antolak, A&P project manager.

Not only will the construction bring jobs to the area, but, once complete, the brewery will eventually hire over 150 employees and will potentially double the company’s brewing capacity to almost 1.5 million barrels a year. New Belgium Brewing Company plans to invest $175 million in building the facility over the next seven years.