Pepsi breaks ground on massive new plant near DIA

This article first appeared on BusinessDen.com, a BizWest news partner.

Two months after purchasing land near Denver International Airport, PepsiCo has broken ground on its planned new manufacturing facility.

The New York-based beverage giant held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday to mark the start of construction on the 1.2 million-square-foot facility on 152 acres near the intersection of 72nd Avenue and Argonne Street within Denver city limits.

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Pepsi has said the plant, expected to open next year, will be the company’s largest plant in North America, with 500 employees working there. It will replace an existing facility at 3801 Brighton Blvd. in RiNo.

Pepsi paid $49.2 million in July for the land near the airport, buying it from Glendale-based Westside Investment Partners. The company sold its RiNo facility, which sits on 30 acres, in June for $158 million to Stoltz Real Estate Partners, which is based in the Philadelphia area.

Pepsi said the new plant will have three times the manufacturing capacity as the RiNo facility, and that the company will add 250 jobs. The city of Denver approved a $1 million incentive for the new plant earlier this year.

Attendees at the groundbreaking ceremony included U.S. Rep Diana DeGette, D-Denver, and Kirk Tanner, CEO of PepsiCo Beverages North America.

In addition to Pepsi, the facility will produce Pepsi Zero Sugar, Gatorade, Bubly, Rockstar, Propel and other beverages, according to the company.