ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Albany city commissioners voted Tuesday, March 24, on the future of the long-vacant downtown brewery space once occupied by Pretoria Fields Brewing.

During the 6 p.m. meeting, commissioners chose Option 3—moving forward with Socius Beer Collective to operate the brewery portion of the facility while requiring additional business units to help support the overall space.

Leaders have raised concerns about whether a standalone brewery could be financially sustainable there, citing high operating costs—including utility bills nearing $7,000 a month—and oversized brewing equipment that could be difficult to maintain and operate.

Mayor Bo Dorough pushed for a rebid and made a motion, but it failed 3–2. Dorough says the city made a mistake issuing bids last year before it even owned the building, which he believes limited the number of proposals from perspective brewing companies.

“Why would someone submit a proposal to the city when the city doesn’t even own the property,” Dorough said. “It was a fundamental mistake, and I think that could have been rectified had the commission rescinded the RFP and solicited bids now that we own the property.”

What were the options?

Commissioners were expected to vote for one of three paths:

• Reject a bid from Socius Beer Collective to operate as a stand-alone brewery and rebid the space
• Accept Socius’ proposal and negotiate a contract for a new brewery
• Allow Socius to operate the brewery portion only while adding other business units to support the full space

The last path would reimagine the space as a multi-use destination featuring food service, a full bar and entertainment.

Ward 2 Commissioner Willie Weaver says the vote is critical because the building has remained vacant for too long.

“It’s been there vacant for a while. And that was one of my concerns and other poor concern that it will start to deteriorate like other large buildings downtown,” Weaver said. “So we’re intending, if we go that route, according to what staff is saying, to try to get it moving and get something in the building. Even if the brewer can’t be up in 90 or so days, we’ll have other plans for other things that doesn’t take as much to prepare for to get in that building and have something for the citizenry to do.”

How did the city get here?

In October 2024, Pretoria Fields Brewing announced it would leave its downtown taproom after nearly a decade, saying it planned to return to its “farmhouse brewery roots.”

WALB later reported that the city of Albany bought the former Pretoria Fields property at 120 Pine Avenue from Southwest Georgia Farm Credit due to foreclosure. After purchasing the building for $820,000 according to city records, commissioners decided the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) would manage the property going forward.

According to a memorandum, Pretoria’s owner later proposed to Albany’s mayor that the brewery could lease the building from the city for $1,000 a month for up to ten years, and have the option of buying the building and everything in it for $1.2 million at any point during those years.

Once the memo circulated, at least two commissioners, Weaver and Chad Warbington, said they were not on board with the proposal given that the brewery reportedly owed at least $1 million to the city in taxes and utilities payments before the foreclosure, and owed the bank before the city purchased the building. The bank still reportedly took a loss after the city’s purchase. The brewery also allegedly received several government and community-backed grants, which reportedly were not repaid.

More recently, the city said that Pretoria is no longer interested in returning to downtown.

What is Socius Beer Collective?

Socius Beer Collective owns breweries across Georgia, including Outrun Brewing Company in Stone Mountain, Slow Pour Brewing in Lawrenceville and Finished Goods Brew Werks in Winder. They previously asked the city of Albany for a line of credit, which would allow them to borrow up to $250,000 and repay any monies borrowed to replenish the loan to be used again later, often at a lower interest rate.

What happens next?

City leaders say they’re moving away from referring to the site as “Pretoria Fields” now that Socius is set to take over.

City Manager Terrell Jacobs tells WALB he plans to return with a negotiated contract for commissioners to vote on by the end of April.

He added that coordinating the additional vendors will take time, but the goal is to get brewing up and running soon for Albany residents to enjoy.

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