Genesee Brewing details a major eco-upgrade

The owner of the venerable Genesee Brewery will break ground next month on a $39 million upgrade that the company's chief executive promises will give its St. Paul Street complex "the most advanced modern brewing system in the world, right here in Rochester."

The upgrade will feature a new 130,000-square-foot production building on St. Paul with huge viewing windows that chief executive Kris Sirchio said would serve as a new gateway to downtown from northeast Rochester.

The work "will secure our leadership position in our community and our industry for the next generation," Sirchio said.

North American Breweries also is planning a second phase of improvements that would make the 137-year-old Genesee brewery into an eco-brewery district that would have opportunities for interaction with neighbors while serving as a regional destination for tourists, beer-lovers and microbrewers. The highly popular Genesee Brew House, the pub/visitor center/shop/pilot brewery that opened three years ago, would be expanded to house a museum as well as a meeting and education center. The pilot brewery also would be enlarged.

North American would like to improve pedestrian and bicyclist accessibility to the complex, host a community farmer's market and offer recycling options.

The company said it was in discussions with Monroe Community College about collaborating on workforce development and other matters. MCC is relocating its downtown Rochester campus to a former Eastman Kodak Co. building on State Street, just a five- to 10-minute walk from the brewery via the Pont de Rennes footbridge over the Genesee River.

The second phase is dependent in good part on financial support from the $500 million in Upstate Revitalization Initiative money promised to the Finger Lakes region Thursday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

North American Breweries' plans were featured prominently in the region's application for the funds, but that does not constitute a guarantee. Local economic development officials begin next week the process of deciding which projects get funding, how much, and when.

If the second phase goes forward as North American would like, the company expects the overall expansion to create 100 jobs and generate $20 million in tourist spending annually. The total cost of both phases could be about $50 million.

Genesee Brewing now employs about 585 people, a significant jump from the days in the late 2000s when the facility was faltering. North American, which purchased the brewery in 2009, is generally credited with saving Genny from financial ruin. It has invested $70 million there since that time.

​The first phase of work would replace Genny's brewing systems, which are nearly 50 years old. The new systems will provide much greater flexibility, allowing Genesee to brew smaller quantities of many more varieties of beer.

To make way for the new building, which will house filtering equipment and tanks, the three huge tanks adorned with the labels of Genesee's three traditional beers will be demolished.

The new brewing system and other improvements also will advance work already underway to radically reduce the brewery's environmental footprint by cutting the use of water and natural gas and generating less waste. Sirchio said existing conservation efforts saved 26 million gallons of water this year.

North American Breweries was acquired in 2012 by Florida Ice & Farm Co., a beverage company based in eco-conscious Costa Rica. The firm shares that green consciousness, and wants to make the St. Paul Street brewery a model of sustainability.

Sirchio said North American Breweries, which has offices in Buffalo, is a strong supporter of creating an eco-district in an area at the northern edge of downtown. That effort is being led by the Greentopia group.

A portion of the work estimated to cost $24 million begins in January, the company said, with a second portion following at a cost of up to $15 million. The work should take about four years. North American Breweries is paying for that work itself.

SORR@Gannett.com