On St. Paul’s East Side, the Theodore Hamm Brewing Company Historic District is gearing up for major changes.
Volière Spirits and CrowBar, a new distillery and cocktail lounge, opened Friday in what’s labeled on maps as building No. 13 — a former machine, blacksmith, millwright and paint shop inset from Minnehaha Avenue and built around 1911. A developer’s plans for affordable housing and commerce are coming together around them.
A map of St. Paul’s newly-designated Theodore Hamm Brewing Company Historic District, which depicts historic buildings officially contributing to the district in green and non-contributing buildings in red. The St. Paul City Council approved the local historic designation on Nov. 5, 2025. (Courtesy of JB Vang and the City of St. Paul)
Following years, if not decades, of research and debate, the 23-acre Hamm’s campus off Payne and Minnehaha avenues was recently recognized by the St. Paul City Council as a locally-designated historic district. The designation opens up the likelihood that developer JB Vang will qualify for state and federal historic tax credits as he seeks to redevelop four adjoining buildings along Minnehaha Avenue for housing and commerce.
The buildings, labeled on historic district maps as No. 23, 2, 18 and 6, include the laboratory/wort cooler (built in 1883), brewhouse (1892), stockhouse No. 2 (1901) and grit storage (1893). If the city approves a site plan and financing comes together next year, remodeling could start in 2027 to install 86 affordable art lofts attached to a 2 1/2-story indoor marketplace, which will include a mezzanine.
The “new brew house,” a smaller adjoining building labeled No. 56, was constructed in 1955 and not included in the historic designation. Depending upon how discussions go with state historic preservationists, it could be demolished.
“Removal of that building would improve the flow between spaces and allow for more natural light in the loft-style units,” said a spokesperson for the developer in an email. “There are still some hoops to jump through, but JBV is cautiously optimistic.”
An architectural rendering of planned East End apartments at the former Hamm’s brewery facility. (Courtesy of JB Vang)
Large rounded openings throughout the four buildings once held giant vats for the brewery, and as a result of the historic designation, any efforts to redevelop the buildings will likely require preserving some of them. That unique feature may allow for light, space and views between floors. Some holes may be infilled or covered to create more floor space.
In a separate project not eligible for historic tax credits, JB Vang hopes to fill in part of a shared parking lot along Minnehaha Avenue to the east of building No. 17 — otherwise known as stockhouse No. 3 — with 110 affordable apartments spanning one to three bedrooms, above two levels of underground parking. All the JB Vang units will be income-restricted to families earning 30% to 60% of area median income, according to the developer.
An architectural rendering of the planned West End Marketplace at the former Hamm’s brewery complex. (Courtesy of JB Vang)
To the south of the future JB Vang art lofts, St. Paul Brewing serves pizza, beer and holiday cheer from a former brewery keg house and racking room dating to 1893, labeled building No. 7 on maps. Its distinctive back patio and biergarten were once the Hamm’s horse stables and carpentry shop and remain surrounded by their ruins.
St. Paul Brewing owner Rob Clapp sued the city of St. Paul this year, accusing the city council of resorting to illegal “spot zoning” to rezone portions of the 23-acre campus specifically for the JB Vang development. Clapp and the city remain at odds over the prospect of filling in the shared parking lot with housing.
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