Updated Aug. 7: Central District Brewing has announced plans to move into the building at the corner of Fifth and Red River streets following City Council authorization of a five-year lease on Thursday.

Co-owners Julie Ballato and Angela Duley, longtime Austin residents, said they plan to open at 417 Red River St. at the end of 2018.

"We’ve been working on the brewery together for four years, so there’s a tremendous level of excitement behind the announcement of our location," Duley said in a news release. "We look forward to introducing our uniquely crafted brews, as well as showcasing 150 years of brewing history that began just blocks away."

Central District Brewing will offer classes on tasting, beer production and the history of brewing in Austin. All beer will be brewed on-site, and the brewery will also keep root beer and a variety of sparkling juices on tap.



Published July 24: A new brewpub may be coming to downtown Austin.

The Austin Convention Center is looking to lease about 3,580 square feet of downtown parking garage space to East Holly LLC, a privately held, member-managed and majority female-owned company specializing in brewing and producing premium craft beer, according to a recommendation by the city of Austin's real estate services department.

The lease negotiation, up for approval by the Austin City Council at its Aug. 3 meeting, states East Holly plans to operate Central District Brewing, a craft brewpub, at 417 Red River St., Austin, in the northwest corner of the Austin Visitor Center building across from the Hilton Austin.

"It's been in the works for over a year," said Lauraine Rizer, real estate services officer for the city of Austin.

Improvements to the space inside the parking garage, which Rizer described as "raw" space that was never finished out, are estimated to be around $350,000. The lease includes the use of 10 dedicated parking spaces within the Fifth Street Convention Center parking garage for the brewpub.

The lease will be for five years, with options to renew two more times, according to the document.

A website, www.centraldistrictbrewing.com, says the brewery will be coming to Austin in 2018.

"They are going to offer some unique things that are really going to appeal to conventioneers and locals," Rizer said. "When we were going to put the space out to lease, we talked to council members [who said] they wanted us to activate that area at night."