GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Vander Mill Ciders plans initially to quintuple production with a $4 million redevelopment of an industrial site on Ball Avenue NE and would have room there to grow much more, its owner said at a Thursday, Jan. 22, hearing.

Grand Rapids Planning Commission approved a permit for the Spring Lake cidery to occupy a former beer distribution facility and open a tap room. Vander Mill hopes to start production in Grand Rapids this summer, with an eye toward opening the restaurant by the fall.

“It’s been a rapidly growing (beverage) category and we’ve been fortunate to be on the forefront of that,” owner Paul Vander Heide said.

Vander Mill produced 200,000 gallons of hard cider last year, he said, and plans to have enough equipment to make 1 million gallons at the Grand Rapids location. And the 52,000-square-foot facility just north of Michigan Street “has capacity for us to go almost 10 times that” much production, Vander Heide said.

"It's been a fast horse to ride."



RELATED: Vander Mill Ciders eyes Grand Rapids tap room

Vander Mill opened in 2006 east of Spring Lake and two years later started producing hard cider. There’s a 1,500-square-foot tap room and restaurant at 14921 Cleveland St.

Vander Heide said the cidery aims to have 24 ciders on tap in a 4,300-square-foot restaurant in Grand Rapids. There’ll be indoor seating for 200 people and an outdoor patio with room for 60 people.

Vander Mill will keep operating its Spring Lake restaurant, but will move most apple-pressing and fermentation to Grand Rapids. Smaller batches of specialty ciders still will be made in Spring Lake, Vander Heide said.

Matt Vande Bunte covers government for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at mvandebu@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter and Facebook.