New beer hall will take shape next to Boulevard Brewery

Visitors to Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewing Co. will get the chance sometime this summer to linger over the taps in a new beer hall, now under construction adjacent to the brewery campus.

On Friday evening, as part of Kansas City Design Week, Helix Architecture + Design offered a first look at what the new Boulevard visitors center will look like.

Helix was one of multiple architecture, design, advertising and creative firms that opened their doors from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Crossroads Arts District to showcase their work in free open houses.

Helix chose to feature their Boulevard expansion designs — and beer — to show how it’s working with the brewery to create space that honors the history of beer and Boulevard in an expanded new visitors’ center.

“The driver was our need for more space,” said Jeff Krum, Boulevard’s vice president of corporate affairs. “We cannot accommodate the demand for visitors’ tours now, and those we do accommodate are not getting the best possible experience.”

The brewing company acquired a four-story building at 2534 Madison Ave., adjacent to the brewery at 2501 Southwest Blvd. The renovated first floor will include an exhibit space and a retail shop open to the public plus a tasting room that can accommodate up to 100 visitors who have taken the brewery tour.

The 10,000-square-foot second floor will become a tap room, or beer hall, where people who have been on tours can extend their visit. The second floor is expected to be open for limited hours tied to the brewery tours. It will sell beer on tap and limited food offerings. It also is planned to be open to visitors who aren’t able to get on a tour but who would like to buy beer and drink at the brewery, said Boulevard’s marketing communications manager Julie Weeks.

Designer Erin Stork at Helix said the project planners were committed to integrating work from local artists and craftsmen, and that they aimed for “authentic finishes” — such as lots of reclaimed wood and steel — that pay homage to Boulevard brands and the brewery.

Alissa Wehmueller, a Helix principal, said Boulevard and Helix representatives visited 13 breweries in Colorado and some in Michigan to see what concepts worked well in other visitors centers.

The top floor of the building, a brick structure built in 1929 for the Skelly Oil Co., is being remodeled to house Boulevard offices that currently are scattered in other locations. Plans for the third floor remain open.

Crossland Construction is the general contractor.

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 4:00 AM with the headline "New beer hall will take shape next to Boulevard Brewery."