The American Bottling Co. sold the 7UP Snapple Southeast plant along Interstate 95 to a New York City investor for $9.4 million.
A spokeswoman said the deal is a sale-leaseback.
The property long was known as the Canada Dry Bottling Co. plant operated by Southeast-Atlantic Beverage Corp.
It was recognized for its large water tank painted as a 7UP can. In 2016, the city issued a demolition permit in 2016 for the tank and its foundation.
American Bottling, based in Plano, Texas, sold the property at 6045 Bowdendale Ave. to Veyron/KDP I Partners, part of Veyron & Co. (US) LLC. The deed was executed Jan. 6.
Katie Gilroy, director of corporate communications with KDRP Keurig Dr Pepper, said Keurig Dr Pepper owned the property and sold the two buildings and associated land to Veyron.
“We have entered into a long-term leaseback agreement with them to stay in the facilities, with no interruptions or impact to our operations,” she said.
“Our decision was part of our efforts to optimize our real estate holdings while ensuring no impact on our operations, and our strategy is consistent with how many companies structure their real estate assets,” she said.
Property records show the 12.4-acre site comprises a 100,606-square-foot manufacturing facility built in 1978 and an 11,283-square-foot office built in 1982.
The Duval County Property Appraiser lists the ownership as Southeast-Atlantic Corp. in care of American Bottling's address in Plano.
It assesses the property at almost $2.7 million.
A mortgage shows that Wells Fargo Trust Co. issued a mortgage Jan. 6 of almost $327 million secured by five properties that include the Jacksonville site.
The mortgage amount for the Bowdendale plant is $9.5 million.
State records show that in 2008, leadership changed at Southeast-Beverage to add an executive with American Bottling Co. and remove all but one of the existing officers.
In 2013, Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages announced it acquired Southeast-Atlantic Beverage Corp. Cadbury Schweppes said it grew to hold the third-largest share of the North American beverage market through a series of strategic acquisitions
The company said it established its own bottling and distribution network in 2006 when it acquired full ownership of Dr Pepper/Seven Up Bottling Group, the largest independent bottler in the U.S. Subsequently, it bought several other major independent bottling and distributing businesses, including All-American Bottling Co. and Southeast-Atlantic Beverage Corp.
In 2018, DPS merged with Keurig Green Mountain to form Keurig Dr Pepper.
