This new, 3,000-square-foot pavilion under construction at Raquette River Brewing in Tupper Lake is part of a wider expansion effort by co-owners Joe Hockey and Mark Jessie. (Enterprise photo — Ben Gocker)

TUPPER LAKE — For now, Raquette River Brewing will have to wait.

The brewery plans to build a production facility and parking lot on land behind its current location, but it first needs approval from the state Adirondack Park Agency and the village to extend Balsam Street and utilities into that area, which contains wetlands.

Joe Hockey, co-owner of the popular microbrewery, appeared in front of the village Board of Trustees last Wednesday, April 26 to give an update on the proposed project and to discuss plans. At the heart of the issue is the cost and feasibility of extending Balsam Street as well as satisfying the APA’s wetland mitigation requirements. For every square foot of wetlands impacted by the road construction, one-and-a-half square feet of wetlands would need to be created elsewhere.

Hockey recently met with APA biologist Mark Rooks and walked the site of a potential mitigation area near the water treatment plant at the end of Water Street.

“There’s enough land there to do what we’re proposing,” Hockey said. “Mark thought if you could mitigate toward the drying beds, it could be easy access. You wouldn’t have to take much dirt out to create wetlands there, and it would qualify for the permit process to extend Balsam Street.” A map prepared by Rooks, on file at the village offices, shows some of the potential mitigation areas around the water treatment facility, the largest site being more than 32,000 square feet.

According to Hockey, once the village applies for the permit, the APA has 15 days to respond. Often, these responses are returned with requests for additional information, and if that is the case, the village will have 15 days to provide that information. Once the APA deems the permit application complete, it would have 90 days to rule on it.

“That’s the worst-case scenario,” Hockey said, “that it would be like 120 days.”

Trustee Clint Hollingsworth said the extension of Balsam Street would present some challenges in terms of “what needs to be taken out, put back in, what they’re considering acceptable substrate, culvert sizes,” but he said the potential benefits of the brewery expansion would far outweigh the outlay.

“As far as on the village level of cost, I think in the long run that this is a small fee to what we’re going to gain as a village and for the business,” he said. “The growth of their business has been leaps and bounds.”

Since opening in 2014, Raquette River Brewing has doubled the amount of beer it brews from 60 to 120 gallons per brew day to meet demand. With help from a $30,000 microenterprise grant, which offset an $80,000 investment by the owners, the brewery recently installed a 10-barrel brew system with capacity to produce 300 gallons of beer per day, plus two 20-barrel fermenters that hold 600 gallons of beer. Hockey and co-owner Mark Jessie expect the new system to be up and running in two to three months.

Additionally, a new 3,000-square-foot pavilion in front of the brewery is already under construction. The owners plan to make the space a year-round venue for brewery events.

In a Jan. 24 letter to village trustees outlining growth plans, Hockey stated that the brewery expects to add five new positions over the next three years in its existing facility. The proposed production brewery would add six to 10 more positions. The investment Hockey and Jessie are making is significant; Hockey said the new production facility alone could account for up to half a million dollars.

“We want to help you if we can,” village Trustee Ron LaScala said. “Right now, I think we’re in just such a beginning stage that we just have to do a little homework.”

For his part, Hockey wants to be clear: “The whole expansion depends on what this village board decides to do. I mean, without the Balsam Street extension, then there is no expansion, at least on that footprint we’re talking about.”

Although Mayor Paul Maroun cited a large workload for municipal highway crews as one obstacle, he said the village will take steps to make sure the project goes forward.

“What we can do is start the process with the APA to get it going,” he said.