How a Brookland Warehouse Became a Brewery
✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.
![](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2019/03/brewery-res.jpg)
A recent National Building Museum tour of the Right Proper brewing facility in Brookland offered a glimpse at how DC buildings can be adaptively reused.
The Right Proper Brewing Company Brookland Production House + Tasting Room is located at 920 Girard Street NE (map) on a PDR-zoned (production, distribution and repair) block abutting the railroad tracks. The warehouse was originally built as a bakery after World War II, and most recently housed an auto shop.
story continues below
loading...story continues above
Consequently, when Right Proper purchased the property, all the concrete flooring had to be removed and replaced. The current beams and trusses were already in place, as were the two-inch water pipes that are ideal for a beer production facility. A large garage door facing the alley loading dock was replaced, enabling the company to drive forklifts with pallets of product directly into the at-grade facility and allow a mobile canning company to drive right in every other week.
![](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2019/03/brewery2.jpg)
The location and siting of the warehouse enables the brewery to maximize its energy efficiency, a point of pride for co-founder Thor Cheston, who noted that it takes five glasses of water to produce one glass of beer. The building is south-facing and has a flat roof which is covered in solar panels. In 2017, the warehouse consumed 78,000 kWh of energy and its solar installation produced 76,000 kWh. The brewery's sustainability extends beyond just the infrastructure, as they also give their spent grain (from which liquid is strained to be fermented into beer) to Bellair Farm to be fed to their pigs and livestock.
About 90 percent of its roughly 6,500 square-foot building is occupied by the small brewing operation, producing around 5,000 barrels per year. For comparison, that production is about five times more than what is brewed at the company's original Shaw outpost.
See other articles related to: adaptive reuse, brewery, building museum, national building museum, right proper brewery
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/how-a-brookland-warehouse-became-a-brewery/15197.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever
![Buying with Friends: What You Should Know](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2010/05/home_value.jpg)
Here are some precautions to take before buying real estate with a buddy.... read »
![$10 Million McLean Home Of Former Nationals Star Stephen Strasburg Finds a Buyer](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/09/resized/VAFX2180246_45_0_image_560x420.jpg)
The six-bedroom home listed for just south of $10 million back in June went under con... read »
![16-Story, 325-Unit Building Pitched For Arlington's Wilson Boulevard](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/09/resized/2500-wilson-1_image_560x420.jpg)
The new project will take the place of an obsolete office building in Courthouse.... read »
![Mayor Bowser Announces First Office-To-Residential Projects To Receive Tax Abatements](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/09/resized/1625-mass-1_image_560x420.jpg)
The three office-to-residential conversion projects have been conditionally awarded t... read »
![500 Apartments, Live/Work Units And A Park: The New Plans Coming To St. Elizabeths](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/09/resized/parcel-6-park_image_560x420.jpg)
The plans for one of the final parcels at DC's St. Elizabeth's East campus are beginn... read »
- Buying with Friends: What You Should Know
- $10 Million McLean Home Of Former Nationals Star Stephen Strasburg Finds a Buyer
- 16-Story, 325-Unit Building Pitched For Arlington's Wilson Boulevard
- Mayor Bowser Announces First Office-To-Residential Projects To Receive Tax Abatements
- 500 Apartments, Live/Work Units And A Park: The New Plans Coming To St. Elizabeths
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro