No one was injured, but a ruptured decompression hose made a very loud sound. The plant is set to move to a new location soon.
The Pepsi bottling plant on Brighton Boulevard on Elyria Swansea’s southern border. July 7, 2021.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
If you heard a loud sound near Brighton Boulevard on Saturday, you weren’t the only one. People flocked to social media to figure out what exactly had gone boom.
Some reported seeing a plume wafting up from the Pepsi plant at 38th Street and Brighton, while others said it was “very loud.”
Now, we have an answer. PepsiCo confirms that the sound came from its plant, where a “compressor hose ruptured causing a rapid decompression,” according to an email from spokesperson Ashley Blua.
Blua continued: “Fortunately, there were no injuries. Safety remains our top priority, and we are taking immediate action to replace the hose and ensure that all safety protocols are thoroughly reviewed and reinforced.”
The Pepsi plant is in the River North district at the edge of the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood. It was built in 1974, but may not be there much longer.
The company plans to move the plant, including all 250 employees, to a new site on 152 acres near Denver International Airport. Sprawling across 1.2 million square feet, the new plant will be Pepsi’s largest in the country.
The plant was expected to open this summer, Denver Business Journal reported in 2024.
PepsiCo already sold the RiNo property for $158 million in 2022, according to property records. The old plant sits on nearly 30 acres in a prime development zone.
The buyer, Stoltz Real Estate Partners, is based in Philadelphia and owns properties in downtown and Cherry Creek, BusinessDen reported.
