It's not known whether Bishop Sudworth or his son George built the Sudworth Building in downtown Ann Arbor in 1895. What is known is that the historic structure is undergoing a thorough restoration today.
John Carlson, managing partner of 2mission, is heading up the $3 million project, which will gut and redevelop the structure at 205 E Washington. He hopes to finish work on the 10,692-square-foot building by August.
The Sudworth, near Café Habana, which Carlson also owns, will be turned into two floors of Class A office space above the Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery on the ground floor and basement. The brewery will make traditional American beer with American barley and hops.
Carlson notes that many of the building's historic aspects will be preserved as his group tries to obtain state historic designation for it. He touts the building's distinctly large windows on the second and third floors.
"It's almost like you're in a glass box up there," Carlson says.
A contributing property in the Main Street Historic District, the simplified Romaneque structure has had an interesting and varied history. It was built by the Sudworths and had long been home to a number of fraternal orders before it became a Buddhist temple in its latest reincarnation.
Bishop Sudworth owned a successful medical practice in Kalamazoo and a drugstore in Petoskey in the later half of the 19th Century before coming to Ann Arbor. The building was intended to be a monument to the accomplishments of the Sudworth family. Whether they would find microbrewed beer a fitting tribute is anyone's guess.
Source: John Carlson, co-owner of the Sudworth Building
Writer: Jon Zemke
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