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School’s Out Forever: Beer Is Flowing at Former Freewill Elementary in Upstate New York

Sale/Acquisition of the Year for Rochester
By Allen Johnson, Coleman Applegate
March 27, 2024 | 10:45 AM

In a small town east of Rochester, New York, beer is flowing inside a former elementary school, part of an ambitious project that’s teaching the commercial real estate industry a lesson or two about how to transform a property into a new use.

K2 Brothers Brewing, owned and operated by brothers Kyle and Bradley Kennedy, bought Freewill Elementary at 4320 Canandaigua Road in Walworth last year for a second location.

The $1.4 million deal has been selected by a panel of local industry professionals as the winner of the 2024 CoStar Impact Award for sale/acquisition of the year for Rochester.

Inside the adapted 70,000-square-foot school building, what was once the gym today houses the brewing operation, while the old cafeteria and stage have been turned into a brewpub that opened in January 2024.

The broker on the deal, John Antetomaso of RE/MAX Plus, helped the Kennedy brothers realize their plans for expansion, which led to a vacant property being put back on the Walworth tax roll. Antetomaso also talked to neighbors to educate them about the project and its new job opportunities.

About the Project: Wayne County School District was the seller of the property situated on 42 acres.

What the Judges Said: “Terrific adaptive reuse” and a “transformative project with a unique redevelopment of an asset not seen before in the region.”

They Made it Happen: John Antetomaso, broker and owner, RE/MAX Plus.

 

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