The IBJ staff report
A filing for tax abatements at Ameriplex-Indianapolis by PepsiCo. Inc. confirms an IBJ report a month ago that the food and beverage giant would build a mammoth warehouse and distribution facility in the industrial park near Indianapolis International Airport.
The filing shows the $14 million, 1.1-million-square-foot project easily would top the biggest industrial lease announced last year: Epson America Inc.'s 750,000-square-foot, build-to-suit in Plainfield.
PepsiCo's building would straddle Marion and Hendricks counties in Ameriplex, where Pepsi has a Gatorade bottling plant. Real estate brokers said earlier that the existing plant would give Ameriplex's owner, South Bend-based Holladay Properties, an edge in winning the project.
The Gatorade plant is being expanded to accommodate a new line that will begin operating in early 2007. Nearly 500 workers are employed there.
The abatement for the new warehouse would help Gatorade consolidate warehousing now scattered across various locations on the west side, according to Indianapolis officials. The 300 now working in distribution would keep their jobs.
About 11,500 square feet would be devoted to offices and the remainder to distribution.
Pepsi would save nearly $1.7 million in taxes over the 10-year abatement.
Other developers competing to build Pepsi's new plant were Chicago-based Verus Partners, and local developers Lauth Property Group, Browning Investments Inc. and Duke Realty Corp.