The owners of the proposed Flying Machine Brewery took another step toward making their project a reality this week as they filed their plans with the city of Wilmington to go through the permitting process.
 
The owner of the 1.65 acres at 3130 Randall Parkway received a rezoning from the city last month that allows the more than 15,000-square-foot facility, but only after changes were made to the initial plan.
 
Brewery founders Grant Steadman and David Sweigart told the Wilmington City Council on Jan. 3 that they reduced the number of seats in the taproom to 173 from 216, will build absorbent sound barriers and will not have outside entertainment.
 
Those changes were enough for the council to vote 6-1 to rezone the area to a conditional community business district.
 
“We’re very excited to be moving forward on this,” Steadman said Thursday.
 
Flying Machine, Steadman said, will spend between $1 and $2 million to construct the new facility. The land is currently vacant.
 
“We’re working to get all the proper permitting in place so we can break ground as soon as possible,” Sweigart said.

“We know we’re going to be a big asset to the city of Wilmington and to our surrounding community, and we have gotten quite a bit of support from people in town and the neighborhoods that we’re close to,” Steadman said. “So we’re excited to bring them something pretty cool in the near future.”
 
City planner Eryn Moller said the Technical Review Committee meeting that will include the project on the agenda is in a few weeks. She said if that and the permitting process goes smoothly, Flying Machine Brewery could break ground by early summer.
 
The craft beer industry continues to boom in Wilmington and the state, with some industry watchers predicting that the city could be home to at least 15 breweries by next year, according to a Greater Wilmington Business Journal article in September.