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New World Brewery could close to make way for new apartments in Ybor City

 
Zac Tomlinson of Tampa has a drink at the New World Brewery in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday, December 14, 2016. CHARLIE KAIJO   |   Times

Zac Tomlinson of Tampa has a drink at the New World Brewery in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday, December 14, 2016. CHARLIE KAIJO | Times
Published Dec. 17, 2016

YBOR CITY — New World Brewery has been a beloved enclave for beer drinkers and music lovers, tucked away off Seventh Avenue in Ybor City, for decades. It's where indie rock artists like My Morning Jacket, TV on the Radio and Animal Collective played live before they struck it big.

But new development by home builder Ariel Quintela and Darryl Shaw, CEO of BluePearl Veterinary Partners, who own the land and structure where New World sits, could force the brewery to close or relocate within the next year.

Quintela and Shaw are the developers behind the Marti, a $19.6 million mixed-use project with 100 apartments, 8,000 square feet of retail space and an underground parking garage with about 100 spaces. The new apartments will be built less than a block away from where New World Brewery is located at 1313 E Eighth Ave. Last week, Ybor City's Barrio Latino Commission approved the developers' plan to demolish the existing structure at New World Brewery's address.

It's unclear when the building could be demolished, Quintela said in a phone interview Friday with the Tampa Bay Times. But he said construction is expected to begin on the apartment project in the new year.

"We're not in favor of moving any business and we've offered them to stay there in the commercial floor downstairs (once the new building is constructed)," Quintela said. "I know the owner has been looking to buy a place and move for many years."

Quintela said that apartment project has been in the works for the last three years. The building adjacent to where New World Brewery is located is the latest addition. The developers plan to spend more than $5.7 million buying historic properties around Ybor City, like the old Oliva Cigar Factory, the Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn and the former Blues Ship Cafe, and restoring them. Development costs for all five projects could add up to about $34 million in Ybor City.

"I can tell you that we have been looking for just the right location for another New World for quite some time now both in Ybor City and elsewhere," said manager Dean Rosenberger in an email. Calls and emails to New World Brewery owner Steve Bird were not returned. "The current building owner has been very nice and proactive with us throughout his process of buying our property. I think that New World leaving Ybor City would be a cultural loss for the local area both in terms of the events . . . that we host but also as a gathering spot for like minded folks, creative people, musicians . . . We have a lot of good friends, customers, neighbors and fellow venues that we would miss if we weren't able to find the right spot in Ybor City."

Other artists who have performed at New World over the years include Lucero, Kyle Kinane, Doug Stanhope, Tig Notaro, Steve Miller, Charlie Louvin, American Aquarium and William Elliott Whitmore. The bar has hosted its fair share of first dates, weddings, memorial services and christenings, Rosenberger said.

"In essence, for the last 20 years we have been a cultural and social hub for a good number of Tampans as well as a temporary refuge for the weary traveler," he said.

New World Brewery will remain open for now.

Contact Justine Griffin at jgriffin@tampabay.com. Follow @SunBizGriffin.