By Jonathan Lehrfeld CoStar News
A company that calls itself the biggest canned beverage contract manufacturer in North America plans to establish a flagship East Coast facility after signing the largest industrial lease in Philadelphia since 2020.
Santa Clarita, California-based DrinkPAK agreed to lease a 1.4 million-square-foot build-to-suit plant that would anchor a commercial redevelopment project underway in southwest Philadelphia known as the Bellwether District. The lease is the largest industrial deal signed in the market since 2020 and one of the biggest ever recorded in Philadelphia, according to a Newmark research analysis of CoStar data.
"This type of investment brings significant upside to Greater Philadelphia, fueling job creation, supply chain expansion and regional economic growth," said Nick Pickard, a broker on the Newmark team that represented DrinkPAK in the transaction.
The libations giant plans to invest at least $195 million into its new facility, with the company expected to move into the property in the first half of 2027.
The DrinkPAK development is part of a 1,300-acre campus currently underway at the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery site that exploded in 2019. At full build-out, the campus is slated to contain more than 14 million square feet of new industrial and "innovation" space, according to HRP Group, the Chicago-based investment company behind the project.
The move could be a step toward reviving interest in warehouse space in the greater Philadelphia market. Industrial leasing in the city slipped in the past year, with demand in the third quarter of 2025 reaching its lowest level in more than a decade, according to CoStar's latest report. That followed trade policy announcements last year that increased uncertainty in the logistics and manufacturing sectors.
One of the last similarly-sized leases in the area was auto manufacturer Cardone Industries' renewal of a more than 1.3 million-square-foot facility in Northeast Philadelphia in 2021. That location is now being marketed for a new tenant, Bisnow reported.
As for the incoming beverage plant, it's expected to manufacture a range of beverages, including energy drinks, sodas, teas, juices, waters, protein beverages, seltzers, beer, wine and spirits, in various can sizes and packaging formats.
"DrinkPAK now features the three largest can manufacturing facilities in North America, with nearly 5 million square feet stretching from coast to coast," CEO Nate Patena said in a statement in December. Those other locations include 1.4 million-square-foot facilities in Santa Clarita and in Fort Worth, Texas.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the commonwealth is investing $2 million to support the project, and the company could also receive additional incentives from state programs, including a manufacturing tax credit.
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