An Important Milestone

The Tangled Roots brewpub on Washington Square has reached an important milestone. The project is being built by a partnership of CL Real Estate Development and local investors, Jeff and Kelly Pohl. The new building will be in the historic downtown district and any exterior building changes in the district are subject to review by the City of Washington’s Historic Preservation Commission.

CL Real Estate Development has submitted the application with the design concept to the Commission. Once approved and a Certificate of Appropriateness is issued, the new building is one step closer to construction.

“We are delighted to work with the City to move this important development closer to reality,” said Peter Limberger, Chairman of CL Real Estate Development.

Anchored in History

This is the first official release of renderings of the exterior of the project. Though the design is modern, it is anchored in history, inspired by the founder of Washington, IL, William Holland, who settled there in 1825 while he was working for the Federal Government as a blacksmith. Holland built a horse-powered grist mill in town, which then became a defining institution that tied together the farmlands and farmers in the surrounding vicinity.

 “Holland’s Mill tethered the local farms to the town and provided a place for the community to come together and flourish.” said Tangled Roots Brewing Company CEO, Blake Rohrabaugh, “We are creating a new Tangled Roots Washington institution to bring the community together.”

Project Background & Renderings

The Commission’s review ensures that any historical features on the property are appropriately preserved and that new buildings fit well in the context of historic Washington Square while differentiated from the older, existing buildings.

The $7-8 million project involves the removal of the non-historic, existing 1950s single-story buildings and replacing them with an upscale, two-story mixed-use structure with a Tangled Roots Brewing Company brewpub on the first floor and residential units and a rooftop beer garden overlooking the historic square on the second floor.

Co-owner, Kelly Pohl, comments, “I’ve dreamed of a rooftop bar from the moment Jeff and I bought this building twelve years ago. This surpasses even my wildest ideas of what we could accomplish. We are so grateful for this opportunity to impact our hometown in such a positive way. Thank you to all who have helped make this possible – our partners, CL Enterprises, the city council and administration, and especially the people of Washington.”

The rendering shows the new building as it will be viewed from Washington Square: a two-story sensitively scaled building with large storefront windows on the first floor and the rooftop beer garden on the second floor. The height of the building matches the neighboring buildings to the south and east. Details of the project include black masonry, copper, and decorative highlights. Selective interior demolition is underway, with construction of the project to start this summer.

CL Real Estate Development’s Chairman, Peter Limberger comments, “Washington has strong support for dining out and gathering but needs more venues. A destination venue like Tangled Roots will draw people from all over. CLRED is focused on bringing out the potential in our small downtowns and this project will be a catalyst for more activity in downtown Washington.”

CLRED & TRBC Background

CL Real Estate Development is a part of the family holding company CL Enterprises family owned by Peter Limberger and Inga Carus. The company focuses on “Small Towns-Big Ideas” and uses award-winning design and architecture to create downtown developments using the unique context of their communities. Local Washington investors, Jeff and Kelly Pohl partnered with CL Real Estate Development to bring this exciting project to their community. The project architect is Lohan Architecture and interior designer is Aria Design Group, both from Chicago.

Tangled Roots Brewing Company, another company of the CLE group, is a proud producer of Farm to Foam Beer, taking hops grown in Northern Illinois and turning them into their award-winning beers. They presently operate four restaurants in Ottawa, Lockport, Glenview, and DeKalb with three under development in LaSalle, Washington, and Aurora.

CL Real Estate Development (CLRED) is excited to announce their latest project–The Grist Mill in downtown Washington, Illinois. “We are glad to be a part of a community that cares deeply about its heritage and seeks ways to improve the quality of life for its residents and visitors,” said Peter Limberger Chairman of the family owned CL Enterprises and of CLRED. “We look forward to our partnership with the City of Washington on this transformative project on historic Washington Square.”

The project is a combination of new construction and remodeling and repurposing of existing buildings at Washington Square. It includes an upscale restaurant/brewpub, an event space along with a unique rooftop bar and beer garden overlooking the square and several modern residential units. Mayor Gary W. Manier, an enthusiastic supporter of the project, remarks “We are excited to learn that The Grist Mill will be building on our downtown square. This is great news for Washington and our entire region to have a destination like this here. I would encourage anyone to visit their other locations to see just what we have to look forward to.”

The brewpub will be operated by Tangled Roots Hospitality, CLRED’s sister company, an Ottawa-based craft brewery and restaurant company, which currently operates several other upscale brewpubs in Glenview, Lockport, Ottawa and DeKalb, with one in construction in LaSalle, IL. Tangled Roots’ CEO Blake Rohrabaugh remarked: “The Peoria area is growing and Washington, Illinois is perfect for a new restaurant and event space with a wonderful ambience and a unique offering of food and unique farm-to-foam craft beer. We’re looking forward to creating the favorite destination for Washington-area residents and visitors alike.”

World renown Lohan Architecture, known for many landmark buildings in Chicago and around the world is responsible for the design of this unique building. “We’re happy to share Dirk Lohan’s first in-progress design image for the Grist Mill, reimagining an important corner of Washington’s Historic Square, ” says Nathan Watson, “Our objective is to create a beautiful, lasting addition to the downtown. This building will respect the scale and quality of historic Washington Square while revealing its own contemporary structure and purpose.

The Pohl Family has years of experience investing and operating businesses in their hometown of Washington. They introduced this downtown redevelopment opportunity to CLRED several years ago with a big vision and are now partnering with CLRED to make it a reality. “My dream of a rooftop experience overlooking our historic square is finally coming true” says Kelly Pohl. “We are thrilled to be a part of this fantastic project. We know it will be a huge success and lead to continued growth for Washington and surrounding communities. We couldn’t be happier to be working with the City of Washington, CL Enterprises and Tangled Roots to make this dream a reality.”

Today CL Real Estate Development (CLRED) shared good news regarding its plans to renovate the former Kaskaskia Hotel in downtown LaSalle, Illinois. “We are thrilled that the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office just announced that the Kaskaskia project was awarded $675,000 in state historic tax credits to help secure private financing for its historic restoration,” said Nathan Watson, CLRED President. “There have been many hurdles over the years making this project a reality, and this news from the Preservation Office could not come at a better time for the City of LaSalle and our organization,” Watson added.

CLRED also confirms it has addressed recent requests from the City of LaSalle related to the hotel property. “The City approached us with requests to address broken glass and other safety issues,” said Nathan Watson, CLRED President. “For the past couple of months our Property Manager has worked closely with the City of LaSalle inspector to address those issues; most of them are completed and those remaining will be wrapped up very shortly.”

CLRED has also hired a third-party engineering firm to conduct a structural survey of the hotel. “This is crucial information we need in preparation of a full renovation of the hotel,” said Watson. “We will be happy to share the results of that survey with the City of LaSalle when it is completed,” Watson added.

GRAND HAVEN, MI: On June 6, the City Council of Grand Haven, Michigan approved an agreement to sell the historic Grand Haven Diesel Power Plant for $1M to Grand Power Works, LLC, a joint venture of CLRED and local partners “Diesel Boys.” The proposal submitted included the adaptive reuse of the spacious interior as a combination of office space, a restaurant, and event space. Grand Power Works will now enter a due diligence period for the next 120 days, starting from when the agreement is signed. During the due diligence period, Grand Power Works will study the property in greater depth to assess its feasibility to be redeveloped into the proposed mixed-use office, restaurant, and event space. Working in conjunction with the planning commission, development partners, investors, and architecture and engineering consultants, Grand Power Works will be able to determine the best use of the property.

CLRED and Diesel Boys intend to keep the most significant historical aspects of the diesel plant, preserving the building’s character and identity and protecting the openness and grandeur of the space. This project will provide a different and unique space for events that will draw interest year-round for Grand Haven, a traditionally seasonal market. With the new use of the space, both locals and newcomers to the city will be able to experience the diesel plant, previously inaccessible to the general public. “We’re honored to have the opportunity to develop the diesel power plant. We believe this will be a transformative project for the city, preserving the history of a building that has served the community for over a century and allowing it to continue to serve Grand Haven for many years to come in a new capacity,” says CLRED Development Associate Brant Cohen.

CLRED is joined in this endeavor by the senior leadership of its longtime partner, Lakewood Construction, Nick Nykerk and Kyle Engbers. Lakewood Construction is a Holland-based construction company with many prominent construction projects in Grand Haven. Lakewood will manage the construction of the project. “Developing the diesel power plant will give the community access to a piece of Grand Haven history in a new and exciting way. We are very grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of this project with CLRED and can’t way to see it come to life once again” says Nick Nykerk of Lakewood Construction.

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