A rendering of Pepsi’s planned 1.2 million-square-foot manufacturing facility near Denver International Airport. (Courtesy PepsiCo)
As another estimated completion date comes and goes for the massive and long-delayed Pepsi plant in northeast Denver, the project’s roofer is suing for $2.1 million in unpaid invoices.
After initially expecting it to open in the summer of 2023, PepsiCo later revised that estimate to the summer of 2025. An unnamed Pepsi spokesperson revised it again last week.
“Staffing is ramping up now and we will continue to staff in 2026. All production will be operational by 2026,” that spokesperson wrote in a statement to BusinessDen.
Spanning 152 acres northwest of the Gaylord Rockies Resort, the plant will be Pepsi’s largest in North America at 1.2 million square feet. The company sold prized real estate in RiNo for $158 million in mid-2022 and bought the acreage for the new plant for $49 million.
The roofing company JR & Co. says it was hired around that same time by Gray Construction, the project’s general contractor. In a lawsuit filed Aug. 22, JR & Co. describes rising costs for materials and supply chain issues in 2023 but says it was assured it would be paid.
“We need it ASAP,” Gray reportedly told the roofing company in June 2023, referring to a cost estimate. “I know it is not going to be exact, but we need an idea of what to expect.”
JR & Co. says that Gray paid roofing suppliers directly and paid them $1 million more than originally estimated. What it did not do, according to JR & Co., is pay the roofers.
“JR & Co. demanded payment for its work from Gray, but Gray has denied full payment, initially claiming that the material costs presented by JR & Co. were inaccurate and then, when proven accurate, claiming that they had not been timely notified,” last week’s lawsuit states.
“Gray further claimed that PepsiCo … had not paid for the escalated material costs,” it says.
In a statement, Gray declined to discuss specific details from the JR & Co. lawsuit.
“We take all vendor relationships seriously and have a long-standing record of meeting our contractual obligations,” according to the company, which is headquartered in Kentucky. “We are confident this matter will be resolved appropriately through the legal process.”
JR & Co., which is located in Kansas City, Missouri, is not the only contractor awaiting payment.
At the end of July, Centennial’s Emerald Construction Management filed a $1.7 million lien after it wasn’t paid for everything from masonry and drywall to painting and signage. And Metro Door Specialists, an Aurora company, says it has not been paid after installing doors there last year. It has a $26,000 mechanic’s lien on 7190 N. Tower Road as a result.
A rendering of Pepsi’s planned 1.2 million-square-foot manufacturing facility near Denver International Airport. (Courtesy PepsiCo)
As another estimated completion date comes and goes for the massive and long-delayed Pepsi plant in northeast Denver, the project’s roofer is suing for $2.1 million in unpaid invoices.
After initially expecting it to open in the summer of 2023, PepsiCo later revised that estimate to the summer of 2025. An unnamed Pepsi spokesperson revised it again last week.
“Staffing is ramping up now and we will continue to staff in 2026. All production will be operational by 2026,” that spokesperson wrote in a statement to BusinessDen.
Spanning 152 acres northwest of the Gaylord Rockies Resort, the plant will be Pepsi’s largest in North America at 1.2 million square feet. The company sold prized real estate in RiNo for $158 million in mid-2022 and bought the acreage for the new plant for $49 million.
The roofing company JR & Co. says it was hired around that same time by Gray Construction, the project’s general contractor. In a lawsuit filed Aug. 22, JR & Co. describes rising costs for materials and supply chain issues in 2023 but says it was assured it would be paid.
“We need it ASAP,” Gray reportedly told the roofing company in June 2023, referring to a cost estimate. “I know it is not going to be exact, but we need an idea of what to expect.”
JR & Co. says that Gray paid roofing suppliers directly and paid them $1 million more than originally estimated. What it did not do, according to JR & Co., is pay the roofers.
“JR & Co. demanded payment for its work from Gray, but Gray has denied full payment, initially claiming that the material costs presented by JR & Co. were inaccurate and then, when proven accurate, claiming that they had not been timely notified,” last week’s lawsuit states.
“Gray further claimed that PepsiCo … had not paid for the escalated material costs,” it says.
In a statement, Gray declined to discuss specific details from the JR & Co. lawsuit.
“We take all vendor relationships seriously and have a long-standing record of meeting our contractual obligations,” according to the company, which is headquartered in Kentucky. “We are confident this matter will be resolved appropriately through the legal process.”
JR & Co., which is located in Kansas City, Missouri, is not the only contractor awaiting payment.
At the end of July, Centennial’s Emerald Construction Management filed a $1.7 million lien after it wasn’t paid for everything from masonry and drywall to painting and signage. And Metro Door Specialists, an Aurora company, says it has not been paid after installing doors there last year. It has a $26,000 mechanic’s lien on 7190 N. Tower Road as a result.
