A self-serve tap room is expected to open on the first floor of the historic Murchison Building in downtown Wilmington next year.

Brian Ballard, owner of Pour Taproom Wilmington, has signed a lease for about 6,500 square feet in the 11-story structure at 201 N. Front St., said Terry Espy, president of MoMentum Companies and a commercial broker who helped Ballard procure the space.

Espy said the taproom will be a welcome addition downtown. She said the "highest and best use" of a first floor space like that of the Murchison Building’s “is always something that opens it up to the general public.”

Efforts to reach Ballard on Monday for more details about Pour Taproom Wilmington were unsuccessful. Ballard's LinkIn profile indicates that Pour Taproom Wilmington is expected to open in March. 

Pour Taproom has locations in Asheville and Greenville, South Carolina, owned by founder Nate Tomforde, according to a story in The Greenville News in March.

Last year, a technology services and communications company had planned to move into the first two floors of the Murchison Building, owned by Murchison Group LLC, but those plans later fell through. The upper floors are home to a number of office tenants.