Swire Coca-Cola To Build $475M Plant In Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs will be the new home of a $475M Coca-Cola bottling plant that will replace an aging Denver facility.
Swire Coca-Cola, USA announced it will start construction in 2026 on a 620K SF facility at Peak Innovation Park, next to the Colorado Springs airport, according to a press release from the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. The plant is estimated to generate 170 new jobs.
The new facility will replace a 90-year-old production plant in Denver.
Swire previously planned to build the new facility in Denver, but negotiations with the city fell apart last year because of a slow timeline, and the company ultimately withdrew its plans, according to Denver Business Journal reports.
The scrapped Denver plant had secured a 75-year, $270M ground lease for a site near Denver International Airport with plans for a 570K SF building.
According to the release, the Colorado Springs chamber offered Swire a competitive incentives package, and Swire Senior Vice President of Supply Chain Bryan Sink said the city has been “a great partner for our existing distribution facility.”
During construction, the project is expected to support roughly 1,190 construction and installation jobs, generating an estimated $103M in direct labor income in El Paso County, the release says.
Once operational, the plant will produce more than 230 beverages for over 60 brands.
Swire, a Utah-based company, produces, sells and distributes Coca-Cola and other beverages in more than a dozen western and midwestern states. It employs around 1,300 people in Colorado.
The announcement of the new plant comes as the Denver metro area is seeing a decline in industrial construction. A Q3 report from CBRE found the industrial pipeline is at its lowest total amount under construction since the last quarter of 2015.
