Boulevard Brewing will expand warehouse and distribution space

Boulevard Brewing Co. on Thursday said it will open a new warehouse and distribution center in south Kansas City next spring that nearly triples its existing space.

The Kansas City brewing company has signed a 10-year lease with options for 182,000 square feet in the Three Trails Industrial Park on 87th Street between U.S. 71 and Interstate 435. Financial details were not disclosed.

Boulevard said the new operation will house all of its finished beer, along with a barrel-aging cellar and space for a bottling line for its Smokestack series of beers.

The company’s principal warehouse for more than eight years has been in a 64,000-square-foot East Bottoms location.

Boulevard said about 15 trucks a day leave the facility with beer to be distributed in 32 states and the District of Columbia, and traffic is likely to increase in 2016 as it opens new markets in at least six more states.

“We’ve been bursting at the seams for quite a while,” said Jeff Krum, Boulevard’s vice president of corporate affairs. “This should give us breathing room for at least the next decade.”

The new distribution center will also allow Boulevard to consolidate operations that are now in three locations, Krum said. The Three Trails facility will have 15 employees initially, up from 11 at the East Bottoms location.

Boulevard will occupy half of the first building being constructed in Three Trails, which is a NorthPoint Development project.

Last week, Commonwealth Inc., a logistics company that provides public and contract warehousing, announced it will take 101,567 square feet in the industrial park. The new operation, a $3.5 million investment, is expected to open in February.

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 11:21 AM with the headline "Boulevard Brewing will expand warehouse and distribution space."