Fire at Northern Breweries (35 photos, video)

No details are yet confirmed but eyewitnesses confirm that the Northern Breweries building on the corner of Spring and Bay Streets is on fire.

It was reported to authorities at about 4:30 this afternoon.

Witnesses at the scene are saying the fire is big and there is a lot of heavy smoke coming out of the building and blanketing much of downtown.

It is reported that Bay Street is closed to traffic from Spring to Brock Streets and that Spring Street is closed south of Queen Street.

Northern Breweries, the Sault's hometown brewery, has been vacant since late summer of 2006, shortly after its last President and Chief Operating Officer resigned.

A series of break-ins at the defunct breweries seemed to be the only action in the building until it became a hot topic in 2010.

Unfortunately, the city was unable to clear the title on the land in time to close a $511,000 deal to sell it in September, 2010.

The property and building was then conveyed to the City of Sault Ste. Marie for non-payment of municipal taxes.

It languished for another year until, amidst great fan fare, a grand new plan to tear down the building and put up an $80 million 200-unit condo and commercial tower was announced by Gateway Properties Inc. in September 2011.

The timeline announced at that time would have seen demolition begin the following spring and ground-breaking for the tower, which included five subfloors of parking on the waterfront, take place around December 2012.

Repeated attempts by SooToday.com to find anyone even remotely related to Gateway Properties Inc. have come up dry and rumours abound that the company has gone bankrupt.

The only evidence of any demolition in the building has been a pick up truck apparently belonging to a contractor parked in front of the door on occasion. 

That and regular reports of break and enters to the main brewery building. 

However, according to an article published in Sault This Week last week, Gateway Properties Inc. is still alive and well.

The article states that Gateway will be moving ahead with demolition of the building in March.

Or that was the plan until today, at least.

SooToday.com will have more on this developing story as information becomes available.

Photo by SooToday.com's Donna Hopper.