McKenna Harford / mharford@skyhinews.com
WINTER PARK — Throughout the snow-covered months, construction workers in Winter Park have been repurposing the first floor of the Vasquez Street parking garage to house a new transit center, public amenities and retail space.
With the snow mostly melted, Cooper Creek announced the first tenant of the space as Big Trout Brewing Company, owned by local Tom Caldwell.
“I think it’s a contribution not just to Cooper Creek, but to the whole downtown,” said Charlie Johnson, a principal at WC Johnson, which owns Cooper Creek.
In partnership with the town of Winter Park, the 5,500 square foot space will also act as a stop for The Lift, giving people a large enclosed space to wait. The town contributed $500,000 for construction costs related to the transit center when they approved the project in October.
The town also hopes to include a ticket kiosk for people to purchase Winter Park Resort lift tickets, as well as Greyhound and Amtrak tickets. Other amenities will include a coffee kiosk, patio, public restrooms, a trash area, building storage and a bike washing station.
Johnson refrained from giving a timeline for when construction will be done or an opening date, but did say that they were working hard to try to get it open as soon as possible.
A Facebook post for Big Trout Brewing Company has an estimated opening in October of this year.