PepsiCo Proposing Expansion at Mount Pleasant Location
PepsiCo is proposing a major expansion project in Valhalla, which would include construction of a new three-story building to house laboratory space, offices and other amenities.
The Mount Pleasant Planning Board has scheduled a public hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Feb. 2 at 8 p.m at Town Hall on the project, which involves the company’s Global Beverage Research and Development Center at 350 Columbus Ave.
In addition to laboratories and offices, the new 122,000-square-foot building will contain a 200-seat dining room, a kitchen, a fitness center and a conference center.
Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi said last week PepsiCo, which has its world headquarters in Purchase, had planned to move out of the location, but the town convinced the company to stay after offering tax breaks. The current building is located at the corner of Stevens and Columbus avenues.
The town is allowing the company to take advantage of mortgage tax incentives and sales tax breaks for the purchase of construction materials, as well as setting up a payment in lieu of taxes agreement for a few years if the project is approved.
No details were provided by the town regarding the tax arrangement.
“They had contacted me over a year ago that they were contemplating moving out of Mount Pleasant,” Fulgenzi said. “They were thinking of consolidating in another area, possibly going to Texas or merging down in Purchase.”
Fulgenzi said he and the town’s Industrial Development Agency (IDA) scheduled meetings with PepsiCo representatives.
“It’s a good thing for Mount Pleasant,” he said. “We were very happy that we were able to keep them in town.”
Several messages left last week for PepsiCo were not returned.
Fulgenzi said construction of the new building would take about one year. Once that is completed, renovations would begin on the two existing buildings.
The project would add 125 parking spaces, raising the number of spaces at the campus to 527.
Interior renovations to PepsiCo’s existing buildings would include the expansion of the mezzanine and a vestibule and adding 15,000 square feet of floor area to the structure.
