Ala. (WBMA) — Coca-Cola Bottling Company United says its new Birmingham campus will represent an investment of about $350 million, exceeding the $330 million price tag announced when the project was first approved
The company opened its new campus to media Thursday ahead of its operational launch on Sept. 14. The 576,000-square-foot facility sits on about 100 acres in Birmingham’s Kingston community, at the former Stockham Valves and Fittings property.
When the project was announced in 2024, Coca-Cola UNITED pledged a $330 million investment, up to 50 new jobs and the retention of more than 750 existing positions. Jefferson County also approved $2 million for brownfield remediation at the site.
Coca-Cola UNITED President and CEO Mike Suco said the company has now surpassed both the original investment and job-growth targets.
“Yeah, the investments in the $350 million range and absolutely on the jobs,” Suco said. “Actually I think we surpassed that already in terms of the growth of what we needed here.”
Suco said the company expects to bring between 750 and 800 associates together at the new facility. The campus combines workers from several Birmingham-area locations and will serve as the company’s corporate headquarters, Birmingham sales center and distribution hub for a large portion of Alabama.
On Sept. 14, Coca-Cola UNITED trucks will make their final deliveries from the company’s longtime East Lake campus before returning to the new site to begin the next day’s operations.
“The trucks will actually leave our old facility that morning loaded, they’ll go deliver product and when they finish they’ll come home here,” Suco said. “Then we’ll start loading for the next day.”
The company says the campus will improve distribution and customer service across Birmingham, West Alabama and North Alabama. Coca-Cola UNITED’s fact sheet lists 750 Jefferson County associates, a $77.9 million payroll and $500,000 in community contributions.
The new campus replaces Coca-Cola UNITED’s East Lake facility at 4600 East Lake Blvd., which has served the company since 1979. That 39-acre property, with about 350,000 square feet of office and industrial space, remains for sale.
Suco said a sale has not closed but is “in progress.” Coca-Cola previously said it hoped the highly visible site near Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport could become another economic-development opportunity for the city. Coca-Cola UNITED listed the East Lake campus for sale in March.
For Kingston, the project means a long-vacant industrial property has been redeveloped into a major corporate and distribution campus. The former Stockham site had been empty for nearly 30 years.
Coca-Cola UNITED also pledged when the project was announced to work with the surrounding community by hiring and training local residents. Suco said the company intends to continue investing in Kingston and bring residents into its workforce.
“We want to be part of that,” Suco said. “We want to help them in every way that we can. We’re wanting to bring people in to work for our company from Kingston.”
The campus marks a significant expansion for a company founded in Birmingham in 1902. Coca-Cola UNITED is set to celebrate its 125th anniversary next year. The project was originally expected to open in 2027, according to the company’s 2024 announcement.
