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New Hofbrauhaus in Milwauke plans to utilize EB-5 funding
A new Hofbrauhaus restaurant and beer garden that is planning to utilize the EB-5 visa program for some of its funding recently agreed to lease space from a different Pabst building than was originally proposed, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Cincinnati Restaurant Group, which operates a Hofbrauhaus in Newport, Kentucky, under license from the Munich, Germany beer hall, has reportedly signed a letter of intent to lease 18,000 square feet at the site of the former Pabst brew house, according to the news source.
Gary Gorman, whose company is purchasing the brew house, told the news provider that the first floor of the facility is a "big open room" and that the space would include the beer garden.
Gorman & Company has also reportedly agreed to purchase the six-story brew house from an investment firm owned by the estate of Joseph Zilber, which is supervising the redevelopment of the Pabst property.
In addition to the Hofbrauhaus, Gorman is planning to develop a 90-room extended-stay hotel, according to the news provider.
For funding the restaurant and hotel projects, the development company has reportedly raised $15 million in foreign investment through the federal EB-5 visa program. By participating in this program, foreign nationals can obtain U.S. green card eligibility by making an investment of $1 million (or $500,000 in some areas) in an American company or project that either creates or maintains at least 10 full-time jobs.
Work on the development will be allowed to begin once the U.S. Department of Homeland Security approves the overseas investors, according to Gorman. He added that he was not sure when the process would be completed, as it had started four months ago.
In addition to the EB-5 funding, Gorman told the news source that he would also use federal historic preservation tax credits of $3.8 million to assist the project's financing. The six copper brewing kettles from the Pabst brew house will be some of the historical features of the hotel and restaurant project.
The brick buildings, which date back to 1882, will also feature a skylight and a stained glass window of King Gambrinus, who is reportedly the unofficial patron saint of brewing.