Chobani plans to invest $1.2 billion over the next five years to take control of Keurig Dr Pepper’s 1.5 million square foot manufacturing and warehouse campus in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, establishing the yogurt producer’s first dairy manufacturing operation in the state. Announced on September 1, 2026, the deal is expected to generate more than 900 jobs and begin production in 2027, with no ground-up construction planned because Chobani is acquiring and repurposing an existing facility.

An Acquisition, Not a Groundbreaking

Governor Josh Shapiro and Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya announced the agreement at a farm in Schnecksville, describing it as the largest private sector investment in Pennsylvania’s agricultural history. Unlike many of the projects CRO follows, the deal involves Chobani taking over an existing plant, equipment, and supporting infrastructure at 7356 Industrial Boulevard rather than constructing a new facility. Once the transition is completed, Chobani plans to produce food products beyond yogurt at the site.

A Facility on Its Third Owner in Under a Decade

The Upper Macungie campus has changed ownership rapidly by industrial real estate standards. Keurig Dr Pepper constructed the 1.5 million square foot facility in 2019 on the former Kraft Heinz plant site, representing an investment of roughly $220 million and creating around 400 manufacturing jobs at the time. KDP’s then-chief supply chain officer, Fernando Cortes, said the objective was to establish an integrated, best-in-class manufacturing network capable of supporting beverage production across multiple categories. Seven years later, Chobani’s significantly larger investment will adapt the same footprint for dairy manufacturing, reflecting a form of industrial reuse that is more common in Lehigh Valley real estate than the ground-up developments CRO typically tracks in the area, including Trammell Crow’s Lehigh Valley Trade Center warehouses several miles away in Bethlehem.

State Money Follows the Farmers, Not Just the Factory

Pennsylvania is supporting the transaction with $50 million in loans and grants through its Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites program, which is intended to fund infrastructure and site improvements at the Upper Macungie campus. Another pool of up to $125 million in state loans and grants will be made available to eligible Pennsylvania dairy farmers to support production expansion, while Chobani may also qualify for state milk processing tax credits. At full capacity, the facility is expected to process more than 3 billion pounds of Pennsylvania milk each year, equivalent to roughly 30 percent of the state’s current milk production, with state officials saying the increased demand could benefit more than 4,000 Pennsylvania dairy farmers.

Upper Macungie’s Busy, Uneven Industrial Pipeline

The Chobani transaction comes as Upper Macungie Township experiences sharply different outcomes for major development proposals. CRO has followed Eli Lilly’s $3.5 billion Project Kennedy, a 797,432 square foot pharmaceutical manufacturing campus planned on approximately 150 acres near Interstate 78 that received final subdivision approval in August 2026 and continues to advance toward construction. Elsewhere in the township, a proposed 2.6 million square foot Air Products data center on 194 acres was ultimately abandoned following opposition from local officials and residents. Chobani’s acquisition sidesteps that type of land use dispute by reusing an existing industrial property rather than introducing a new development, a distinction that could become increasingly important as Upper Macungie evaluates future large-scale projects.

The Same Company, a Different Delivery Model in New York

Chobani is following a substantially different development strategy for another major expansion. In New York’s Mohawk Valley, the company is constructing a new 1.4 million square foot, $1.2 billion facility from the ground up in Rome, located on a shovel-ready site within the Griffiss Business and Technology Park. That project is also expected to generate more than 1,000 jobs and represents new construction, contrasting with the acquisition and conversion strategy Chobani is using in Pennsylvania. Sen. Dave McCormick described the Pennsylvania investment as a vote of confidence in the state’s workers, farms, and manufacturing capabilities, although the construction scope in the two states is notably different: one is a greenfield development, while the other involves taking over an existing plant.

What Hasn’t Been Detailed Yet

Several elements of the Pennsylvania investment have yet to be disclosed. Chobani and the state have not released a detailed breakdown showing how much of the $1.2 billion will be allocated to converting the existing facility for dairy production versus equipment, working capital, or other expenses. No general contractor or engineering firm has been publicly identified for the site work that may be required, and it remains unclear how many of KDP’s approximately 400 existing employees at the facility will transition to Chobani. Production remains targeted for 2027, but a detailed construction or conversion schedule has not yet been announced.

Project Fact Sheet

• Project Name: Chobani Lehigh Valley Dairy Manufacturing Facility
• Location: 7356 Industrial Boulevard, Upper Macungie Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
• Project Value: $1.2 billion over five years
• Client/Developer: Chobani LLC
• Facility: 1.5 million square foot manufacturing and warehouse campus, formerly operated by Keurig Dr Pepper
• Site History: Constructed by Keurig Dr Pepper in 2019 for approximately $220 million on the former Kraft Heinz plant site, creating around 400 jobs
• Jobs: More than 900 full time jobs over five years
• State Support: $50 million in state loans and grants for site infrastructure; up to $125 million in loans and grants available to eligible Pennsylvania dairy farmers; potential state milk processing tax credits
• Production Start: Targeted for 2027
• Regional Impact: Expected to process more than 3 billion pounds of Pennsylvania milk annually at full capacity, approximately 30 percent of the state’s total milk production, benefiting more than 4,000 Pennsylvania dairy farmers
• Local Partners: Lehigh County Authority; Upper Macungie Township; Lower Macungie Township; South Whitehall Township; City of Allentown

Project Team

• Developer/Owner: Chobani LLC
• Selling Party: Keurig Dr Pepper
• State Partner: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Governor’s Office; Department of Revenue)
• Local Partners: Lehigh County Authority; Upper Macungie, Lower Macungie, and South Whitehall Townships; City of Allentown