CLAYMONT — PepsiCo is reportedly looking to lease a 359,000 square-foot warehouse in Claymont, continuing its momentum at the former Evraz steel plant sparked with a massive climate-controlled facility.
Pepsi is looking to move its northern Delaware operations from a slightly smaller warehouse on Governor Printz Boulevard in Northeast Wilmington to a newly-built warehouse off Philadelphia Pike in Claymont, as first reported by WDEL. The entire investment is reportedly valued more than $60 million, including more than half the amount dedicated to the installation of state-of-the-art automated equipment, according to documents reviewed by the Delaware Business Times.
PepsiCo declined to comment to the Delaware Business Times on this project. PepsiCo representatives did say that the company “remains committed to serving our customers and consumers in Delaware and we continually look for ways to improve and strengthen our operations to deliver value.”
For the past six years, Delaware has seen millions of square feet of warehousing built on a speculative basis to draw new tenants, typically serving as distribution centers for the East Coast. Similarly in Claymont, local, county and state leaders have worked behind the scenes for decades to find opportunities to turn the former steel mill into a new economic hub that could draw scores of jobs to the town.
First Industrial Realty Trust, a top publicly traded real estate investment trust, bought the 28-acre parcel of land, built the warehouse as one piece of its overall plan for the First State Crossing project off Naamans Road in northern Delaware. At one point, the plan included 3.75 million square feet of new construction as well as ambiguous designs for mixed-use that would tie into the new Claymont Train Station.
But for now, First State Crossing has one tenant – Agile Cold Storage which just cut the ribbon on its facility in October. That warehouse has 265,000-square-feet of climate controlled space for frozen foods, vegetables and fruit for clients that ship goods through ports on the East Coast.
Meanwhile, potential tenant PepsiCo has been in Delaware for years with plants in Harrington and New Castle and name brand recognition across the world in stores with its drinks and snacks like Doritos, Frito Lays and more. Across the world, the brand has brought in $23.2 billion in net sales for the third quarter of 2024.
Right now, the Pepsi warehouse in northeast Wilmington employs more than 200 people and all would move to Claymont. The company is also expected to add more jobs to Delaware from existing operations in nearby states over the next couple of years. The total employment at the Claymont site is expected to reach 300, according to documents reviewed by DBT.
Delaware Prosperity Partnership representatives told DBT its policy was to not comment on ongoing conversations with prospective companies that may expand or relocate to the state.
The Claymont Renaissance Development Corp. Executive Director Brett Sadler also declined to comment to DBT.