In the spring of 2014 the Stone Brewing Company turned it eyes to the eastern United States in search of a new site to call home. Proposals were requested and the process of selecting a community with the right combination of elements began. Currently the tenth largest craft brewery in the United States and headquartered in Escondido, California, near San Diego, the new location would have to be east of the Mississippi River and allow for the company to be easily served by its suppliers while serving their customer base throughout the eastern half of the US. The City of Columbus, Department of Economic Development and the Office of Mayor Michael Coleman approached Wagenbrenner Development to identify a suitable site, meeting all of the operational requirements set forth in the proposal request made by Stone.

POD Design prepared a ‘Vision Plan’ specific to the needs of Stone. The ‘Vision Plan’ outlined a multi-faceted development intended on becoming a food-related business workforce center and tourist destination, reminiscent of the industrial heritage of the Timken site. The City’s development team reached out to POD Design to assemble a document combining and summarizing all of the collected information in the creation of The Timken Brownfield Economic Development Vision Plan. Now armed with the perfect City, a logical site and a treasure trove of data, representatives from Wagenbrenner Development, the City’s economic development department, and Mayor Michael Coleman himself flew to Escondido, California with the well-developed ‘Vision Plan’ document in-hand to represent an amazing opportunity for The Stone Brewery Company in Central Ohio.