Lewiston Pepsi mulling a move

A soft-drink manufacturer might construct an upgraded distribution center at a new site near the city of Lewiston’s solid waste transfer station.

Two vice presidents of Admiral Beverage Corporation made a presentation Monday at a Lewiston Port Commission meeting.

The company is examining constructing a 75,000 to 100,000-square-foot building on a 13-acre site immediately south of Down River Road in North Lewiston, said Bob Callan, a vice president at Admiral Beverage.

The commission made no decision about the proposal for the Port of Lewiston site.

The possibility of an upgrade comes about two years after Admiral Beverage purchased its Lewiston operations from the Prasil family in 2021, Callan said.

The company has maintained a staff of about 65 employees since the acquisition, who are all “very well-compensated” at its location at 2108 First Ave. N. in Lewiston, he said.

The duties of Lewiston employees involve selling beverages on 12 routes, transporting products to retailers and loading trucks.

Admiral Beverages has production facilities in Nampa, Worland, Wyo., and Ogden, Utah, that serve a network of distribution centers in 11 states, including the one in Lewiston.

Pepsi, Coors, Black Rifle Coffee Company, White Claw and Starbucks are some of its brands, according to its website.

The company’s Lewiston space is leased, Callan said. Expansion could occur in the future, but is not the primary reason for considering a move, he said.

The project would “certainly increase the tax base,” Callan said. “The county (and) city would be the beneficiary of that increased property tax, which I think would be significant.”

If Admiral Beverage chooses to proceed, construction could start as early as the spring and take about eight months.

In other business, the port commission approved an agreement estimated to cost $450,000 for David Evans & Associates, to design amenities for overnight cruise boat passengers west of Lewiston’s railroad bridge on the north side of the Clearwater River.

Headquartered in Portland, Ore., the firm will also obtain permits for and complete cost estimates on features in the plan.

The port will improve a road that links the site to Downriver Road, remove a conveyor belt as well as an osprey nest on the conveyor belt, construct a parking lot and install utilities such as water and sewer in a first phase of the project.

Later phases include a recreational vehicle park, an amphitheater, heliport and renovation of a metal building on site for tenants. The port expects to spend about $3.5 million overall and anticipates everything will be done by the end of 2025.

The port is working in cooperation with American Cruise Lines on the project. American Cruise Lines is spending about $1.6 million on a new cruise boat berth it will have the first opportunity to use. Other cruise lines will be allowed to anchor there if American Cruise Lines doesn’t need it.

Right now, overnight cruise boats usually dock at the Port of Clarkston. But industry backers say more space is needed because of the growing popularity of the route between the Portland area and the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley on the Snake and Columbia rivers.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.