gray skies distillery.jpg

Rendering of Gray Skies Distillery at 700 Ottawa Ave. NW in Grand Rapids.

(Courtesy | Gray Skies, Pioneer Construction).)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A pair of Tri-Unity Christian graduates have purchased and plan to redevelop a mostly vacant storage building north of downtown into a new micro-distillery operation that will produce gin, vodka and whiskey.

Brandon Voorhees, 30, and Steve Vander Pol, 31, are seeking a city tax exemption for a single-story building at 700 Ottawa Ave. NW, which the two plan to fill with their Gray Skies Distillery and tasting room next year.

“We’re really excited about the North Monroe district,” said Voorhees.

“We consider that to be a growth path for Grand Rapids,” he said. “A lot of projects are popping-up down there. We’re looking for that to be the next extension of downtown.”

Gray Skies will have a tasting room attached to a distilling operation that Voorhees said plans to produce liquors for package distribution. Immediate offerings would be vodka and gin, with bourbon and whiskey varieties added after aging.

The operation plans to use a 660-gallon still and Voorhees said the building has space to expand production capacity with extra equipment down the line.

The 13,000-square-foot building, originally constructed in 1958, was most recently used by Grand Rapids Spring and Stamping for storing equipment. The property history includes use as a manufacturing facility, junkyard and dry cleaners.

Voorhees and Vander Pol, with backgrounds in food distribution and telecommunications, respectively, plan to invest roughly $850,000 in the project, according to city documents, and create about 8 new full-time positions.

Vander Pol is moving back to Grand Rapids from Denver, Colo. for the project, Voorhees said. The two partners graduated high school together in 2002.

The city will decide whether to approve their request for an obsolete property rehabilitation tax break worth about $9,000 annually in early December.

The building is located outside the Downtown Development Authority's tax increment financing boundary, but within the city's Smart Zone borders. City economic development staff have recommended the zone's governing board, the Local Development Finance Authority (LDFA), approve the request, which would need to in turn be approved by the City Commission.

City planners recently approved a special land use request for operation until 2 a.m.

Voorhees said he and Vander Pol have been researching the micro-distilling industry for about a year. The duo plans to make spirits with locally-sourced grain.

“The plan is to be distilling everything on site,” he said. “We are tossing around the idea of using some GNS (grain-neutral spirits), but that’s not in the plans. We would be upfront about that if it happens.”

Gray Skies is the third distillery planning to open within the city limits. New Holland Brewing Co. has plans to distill at its new facility on Bridge Street when that opens. Long Road Distillers on West Leonard Street is nearing completion this winter.

The Garage Bar & Grill also replaced Teazer's bar a block up Ottawa Ave. this fall.

“I think the rising tide raises all ships,” said Voorhees. “Hopefully we can get the bartenders talking about the local craft spirits and create the buzz like the craft breweries have created.”

Voorhees said the distillery hopes to open in July 2015.

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