Coke and Pepsi to build battling bottling plants near Denver airport

Coke and Pepsi will bring their longtime cola rivalry to two large bottling plants outside Denver International Airport.

Swire Coca-Cola, a Utah-based Coke manufacturer and distributor, plans to build a 570,000-square-foot bottling plant at the northeast corner of Tower Road and Peña Boulevard, within the airport’s Second Creek Campus, the Denver Business Journal reported.

PepsiCo, based in New York State, is developing a 1.2 million-square-foot Pepsi bottling plant three miles south of the Coke plant, southeast of East 72nd Avenue and Argonne. The firm’s largest fizz factory in North America is expected to open next summer.

The new Coke and Pepsi manufacturing operations represent major bottling and warehouse expansions at the Denver airport, about 25 miles northeast of Downtown.

In April, the Denver City Council approved a nearly $271 million, 75-year ground lease agreement with Swire Infrastructure for 97 acres, which allows Swire Coca-Cola to build the plastic and aluminum bottling plant.

The agreement gives Swire the right of first refusal for 30 more acres and three eight-year lease extension options. The company expects to invest from $350 million to $500 million in the project.

Construction of the manufacturing plant and warehouse is expected to begin early next year.

Swire Coca-Cola makes and distributes Coca-Cola products in 13 states, including Colorado, Arizona, California, Kansas, Wyoming and New Mexico.

It’s not clear if the new Swire plant will replace its USA Production Plant at East 40th Avenue and York Street in north Denver.

PepsiCo has broken ground on its mega bottling plant near the airport, expected to triple the capacity of its manufacturing facility north of Downtown Denver, according to the Business Journal. It will be served by the company’s largest solar panel field. 

The firm was approved in 2022 to build the new plant on 152 acres, with $1 million in incentives from the City of Denver. PepsiCo bought the land in July 2022 for $49.16 million, or $323,421 per acre. 

— Dana Bartholomew

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