USA: Boston Beer Co. signed a purchase and sale agreement with Campanelli Cos. to buy a 50-acre site in Freetown

Boston Beer Co. signed a purchase and sale agreement the week ended August 13 to buy the 50-acre site in Campanelli Business Park where the company plans to build its third brewery.

Officials from Boston Beer and Campanelli Cos., the developer that owns the site, declined August 11 to disclose terms of the agreement, which was signed August 10, The Standard-Times posted August 12.

The agreement is a significant step toward building the 200,000-square-foot brewery that would produce 700,000 to 1 million barrels of Samuel Adams beer a year. In June, Freetown voters approved giving Boston Beer a tax increment financing (TIF) agreement to open the brewery.

Although the company must arrange to connect the site to Fall River's water and sewer lines, Boston Beer spokeswoman Michelle Sullivan said the purchase and sale agreement is an "important step forward."

"Basically, this secures the land for Boston Beer while we continue to do our due diligence on the site," she said.

Ms. Sullivan said the company can withdraw from the land purchasing agreement if it cannot get the water and sewer tie-ins, or if it runs into any serious problems with obtaining building permits or with the site's environmental review.

"This is a non-binding P and S," she said. "We can get it out of it for any reason of our choosing."
Ms. Sullivan said Boston Beer is still talking to other towns and cities in New England. The company, though, has not held public meetings nor reached a TIF agreement with any other municipality. Sponsor Ad

The estimated $90 million brewery is expected to create 75 new jobs when it opens, which could be in the summer of 2008. The facility would operate 24 hours a day and brew most of the 18 varieties of Sam Adams beer. It would join Boston Beer's two other breweries in Jamaica Plain and Cincinnati.

Selectman Lawrence N. Ashley said the local brewery will provide the area with much-needed jobs and an economic boost. Mr. Ashley welcomed the news that Boston Beer had reached an agreement to purchase the Campanelli Business Park lot.

"This makes us closer to locating them in Freetown," he said. "We've done a lot to attract businesses. This shows this is a desirable area to locate a business because of our ready labor pool and affordable property."

The project, though, is still contingent on Boston Beer connecting the site, which is located right off Exit 9 on Route 24, into Fall River's water and sewer lines. Officials said that arrangement could be two to three weeks away.

Boston Beer CEO Martin Roper told Freetown residents during the June 12 special Town Meeting, when voters approved the TIF, that he hoped to have those agreements done within a week.

The arrangement has taken longer as officials on both sides have discussed different scenarios of drawing ground surface water and even using on-site wells. The latter option is unlikely given the brewery's anticipated daily water use of 500,000 gallons.

The discussions have also hinged on negotiating costs for water use and line maintenance. Mr. Ashley said he anticipates having the final agreements in place by late August or early September. "We're trying to have an effective agreement in place so (Boston Beer) can afford to move here," he said.

Jeff DeMarco, a partner at Campanelli Cos., said "things continue to go well as it relates to ultimately a brewery coming to Freetown. "The town has been very cooperative," he said. "The city of Fall River has been very cooperative."

For his part, Mr. Ashley said he was already looking forward to seeing the first Freetown-produced bottle of Sam Adams beer. "We're looking to have the Boston Beer label say 'Brewed in Freetown,'" he said.

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