The project: Provide the engineering support needed for the distillery operations expansions.

The goal: Renovate the former factory and outdoor space into a multi-purpose distillery and event area.
Project amenities: The new distillery includes a restaurant, event space, brewery and distillery production, hotel, movie theater, office space, and outdoor event space.

Design approach: IMEG worked directly with the owner and architect to clarify the project vision and desired outcomes, and identified any potential conflicts and synergies. This proactive approach helped integrate systems seamlessly into the framework of the project.

Challenge: The industrial site had been empty since the 1980s, and was an eyesore and environmental disaster. The lack of enclosure and climate control left the structure in poor condition.

Solution: IMEG’s team spent a significant amount of time reviewing existing conditions on site and developing repair and restoration details as well as designing around the industrial chic elements that ownership wanted to remain in place (the owner’s personal liquor cabinet resides in the original dumbwaiter, for example).

Project outcome: The new renovated space has been called
a showpiece of industrial restoration (Anthony Todd, Chicago Magazine) and has become a place of pride and revitalization for the local downtown.