Progress Continues on Plans for Brewery and Restaurant at Former Bellefonte Armory Property

Efforts to transform Bellefonte’s former Pennsylvania National Guard Armory property into a brewery and restaurant gained more steam this week after local officials approved a demolition permit.

At Monday night’s meeting, the Bellefonte Borough Council unanimously approved a demolition permit for the 7.5-acre armory property at 1081 Zion Road. Demolition will be limited in scope, affecting only the property’s garage doors, some existing interiors and some concrete walls, according to Gina Thompson, the borough’s Historical Architecture Review Board, planning and zoning administrator. At a later date, crews will demolish some existing flooring to make way for new drains and equipment needed for the incoming brewery.

The armory’s demolition plans meet criteria established by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Thompson said on Monday. A PHMC representative also visited the armory property last week to examine the project.

“PHMC is going to continue to work with [the developers] on their various projects, but this one, in particular, has the green light and is ready to go,” Thompson said. “They’re really not demolishing anything historic there.”

With demolition clearance in hand, the project’s developers intend to submit final land development plans to local officials in the near future. Final plan approval would give Bellefonte a better idea of the project’s timeline, but officials say excitement is already growing in the area.

“I think this project is greatly anticipated by our community,” Bellefonte Mayor Buddy Johnson said. “There’s a lot of excitement in the borough of Bellefonte.”

On May 2, CUZ Holdings, LLC of State College, led by local businessman Duane Reese, purchased the armory property for $950,000. Preliminary plans across the plot’s three buildings called for a brewery, restaurant, tasting room and distillery.

As the borough announced the property’s sale, it said the developers hoped to transform the historic site into a first-class brewery and dining destination that would honor its “historic and architectural covenants and features.”

“It’s a very exciting project, and the property owners are super excited to be here,” Thompson said on Monday. “They say they couldn’t have found a better place. They’re just thrilled, and I’m excited for it, too.”

Constructed in the 1930s, Bellefonte’s armory once housed Troop L of the Pennsylvania National Guard. The property buildings joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

An NRHP registration form for the property, filed in November 1989, reads: “This armory has excellent integrity. Both buildings retain most of their original exterior and interior features, even though the stable is now used for storage. The only plan changes have occurred in the administration building’s basement, where additional storage space was needed. In addition, the siting has retained a predominately rural character.”

After the National Guard moved off the property in the early 2000s, Bellefonte purchased the land in 2014 for $755,000.

The Zion Road property is one of two former armories in Bellefonte seeing new life. The borough announced in late August its plans to purchase the original Armory at 301 N. Spring St. and convert it into a new home for the police department and other offices. The Spring Street Armory was built in 1894 and used by the National Guard until it moved to Zion Road. In the decades since the 26,000-square-foot building was used by the Bellefonte School District and later private owners who renovated it and leased it for office space.