Surly Brewing Co.'s hopes of building a $20 million destination brewery in Minneapolis are starting to take shape.

The Metropolitan Council announced Wednesday that it has awarded the Brooklyn Center-based craft brewer a $545,300 grant to assist with environmental cleanup at a former potato plant in Prospect Park. It's one of three grants the company said it needed to select the site and conduct $2.5 million in remediation.

Surly's plans for a brewery, restaurant, beer garden and event center attracted statewide attention when it sought a change in state law to make it possible.

The largest piece of the subsidy puzzle will likely fall into place this week. Surly has asked the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) for $1.5 million in cleanup funds. A DEED spokesman said its decision will be released this week.

A request for $450,000 from Hennepin County also appears likely to get a green light. County staff are recommending approving the grant, but it likely won't get a final vote from the Hennepin County Board until Jan. 29.

Surly conditionally selected the Minneapolis site, just down the street from a future Central Corridor transit stop, in September.

Located at Malcolm Avenue and 5th Street SE., the "Malcolm Midway" site is currently home to little more than slabs of concrete left over from its days as a Northern Star Co. potato processing plant.

ERIC ROPER