FORTVILLE — An Indianapolis entrepreneur plans to develop a distillery in Fortville with future sights set on a tasting room.
Mark Pressley has a contract to purchase an undeveloped property of about three acres at 738 W. Broadway, where he intends to start Moon Drops Distillery. The property is between Paul’s Garage and Auto Sales and Steven Folgate’s Allstate Insurance office.
Pressley said during a recent meeting of the Fortville Plan Commission that he visited multiple locations in suburban Indianapolis before deciding on Fortville.
“I like the idea of where you’re growing, and it fits the type of property I want to build,” he said, adding investment in the project will be nearly $4 million by the time it’s complete.
The establishment will start out as a distillery for the production of grain alcohol, according to a presentation Fortville planning director Adam Zaklikowski gave at the plan commission meeting. After an 18-month waiting period as required by Indiana law, Moon Drops Distillery would apply for an Artisan Distiller’s Permit from the state, which would allow for the addition of a tasting room and expand the customer’s experience. It’s expected to create 10 to 15 jobs when the distillery and tasting room are fully operational.
Zaklikowski said the town did not receive any letters of remonstrance against the project.
Pressley needed to have the property rezoned from a neighborhood commercial designation to a light industrial one to accommodate his plans. The plan commission voted in favor of sending a favorable recommendation for the rezoning to the Fortville Town Council, which also approved the idea.
“I think it offers a lot of unique charm and character to Fortville and offers a unique perspective, something that would give a good opportunity that Fortville doesn’t have right now,” said plan commission member Cheyenne Hoffa. “…I’ve heard a lot of talk about different opportunities being brought to Fortville, but this is the first time that I’ve actually seen this presented myself, and so I’m really eager to see something like this brought to Fortville.”
The town council approved the rezoning on May 4. Council member Tonya Davis expressed her support for the project during the plan commission meeting.
“I think it’s a great idea,” she said. “…It’d be nice to see something like that come to town.”
Next steps for the project in the coming months include town approvals for aspects like exceptions from development standards along with site and construction plans.
