A public-private partnership has broken ground on redevelopment of a former Charles River Speedway building into a new commercial and cultural space on Brighton’s Western Avenue, anchored by Notch Brewing.

The Salem-based brewery will open its second brewhouse and taproom in the building, which will contain 17,000 square feet of retail, office and event space. The location is down the street from several lab and multifamily housing projects under consideration or construction.

The program is a partnership between the Boston-based nonprofit Architectural Heritage Foundation, state Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance

The former Speedway headquarters building is a remnant of the property’s history as a mile-long racetrack which opened in 1899 along the Charles River.

DCR’s historic curatorship program enables private developers to lease and rehabilitate historic properties. The Speedway project has been in the works since 2012.